


Demon Tamer

by daestruct



Category: EXO (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band), f(x), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Demons, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Minor Character Death, Soul Bond, Supernatural Elements, Violence, side character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-04-11 20:29:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 122,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4451111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daestruct/pseuds/daestruct
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Oh, Baekhyun." Long fingers trail over the markings on Baekhyun's back, and the streets are filled with a dance of hellfire. "Has no one ever told you that Hell would love you?" The moon begins to bleed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> At last it is done! /sprints to the pool for a very long day of relaxation. IT'S SO SURREAL-- I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M FINALLY FINISHED WITH THIS THING!
> 
> First of all, thank you to everyone who reads this! Even if you only read two words of it, it means the world to me that you would spend your time on something I've written. This fic was crazy and fun to write, and despite multiple breakdowns and accepting that 'perfection' is something I will never reach (I am my own worst critic after all), I'm really excited and proud to be presenting this fic to all y'all.
> 
> (Please forgive some errors and grammar goofs. I was not kind enough to give my betas ample time to work with this material. #ifinishedthisyesterday)
> 
> I also have to give huge thanks to the following people:  
> Lonio, thank you so much for all your help and your willingness to wade through the bad stuff to help me bring this fic to life. I learned so much in the process of writing this stupid thing, and I cannot thank you enough for your advice, your patience, and your offhand comments. They certainly kept me laughing throughout the writing process~  
> Adele, thank you oodles and bunches for letting me whine at you about dumb things like Baekhyun, sex, Baekhyun, dumb boys, and Baekhyun. OTL. You were my rock through writing this-- and the most effective alarm clock I have ever had! Thank you for pushing me through this with your encouragement. I couldn't have made it to the end without you. Despite your crazy schedule, you even managed to find the weird mistakes I make when typing, and I can never thank you enough!  
> Thea, thank you so much for your betaing expertise! This fic would be an embarrassing mess of typos and senseless phrases without you. Also, thanks for pimping me out a bit on twitter and encouraging me to keep working hard on this-- YOU'RE ALWAYS SO WONDERFUL TO ME. Please accept my bear hugs from across the border.  
> Frey, thank you for letting me cry about all the dumb things and for allowing me to spoil this entire fic for you in the middle of my mental breakdowns over this and for staying up writing with me. Your last minute spelling catches saved my life. You're the best lil' sis I could have asked for~<3.  
> Ansa & Ren, your endless patience deserves the highest praise. Thank y'all so much for running this challenge, and I am absolutely honored to have been a part of it. Big hugs and kisses for you both!  
> Finally, please enjoy this thing at least 3% as much as I enjoyed writing it. To Baekhyun, Sehun, and all other characters used, thanks for enduring all the shit I put y'all through. 
> 
> Without further ado, I present to you my first completed longfic: Demon Tamer!

# 

_It Begins..._

Dull, bored eyes take in the outside world from behind a layer of glass and sheer curtains. Their owner wears a perfectly bored expression, indifference radiating off of him. The door to the room he stands in creaks open, and he can feel the sudden spike in energy. The light in the room seems to bend, the shadows warping with each step the newcomer takes.

"Watcher," the newcomer greets. His tone is taunting and seductive and wholly repulsive yet oh, so desirable. A hand curls around the shoulder of the occupant of the room, its fingernails sharp and lengthening into claws out of the corner of the man's eye.

It's not surprising to him to see the black claws. Tonight is Night Hunt--the flames that are beginning to lick along the curbs of the streets a testimony to the upcoming horror that is about to befall the world for one night. The streets of Chicago no longer look so bland, no longer a concrete jungle in all of its glory, but rather like a city waiting to be burned.

"Why are you here, demon?" the man asks. His words are phrased like a question, but his voice lacks the intonement of one. The demon drapes himself over the man, holding out his hands in front of them and flexing his fingers. His black claws glint in the dim streetlamp lights, moonlight, and fire glowing outside.

"Baekhyun, Baekhyun, Baekhyun," the demon chants. "I'm hurt." He steps forward to Baekhyun's side, snatching his upper arm and turning Baekhyun to face him. Baekhyun meets the demon’s mocking stare with flat, carefully expressionless eyes. The demon leans forward.

"Won't you greet me by name?" He teases. He cocks his head to the side and leans in further. The corner of his full lips brush against Baekhyun's mouth, but the man barely flinches, barely moves. The demon's smirk is wide against Baekhyun's cheek.

"You're not deserving," Baekhyun says just as tonelessly as before. "Demon." He adds for emphasis.

The demon laughs anyway. "Why, Byun Baekhyun," he coos, "It’s is a bit, hmm, hypocritical to swear at me like that when you yourself are-" The demon's lips ghost over the shell of Baekhyun's ear.

_"Just like me."_

Baekhyun's eyes flash; his fingers curl around the demon's wrist before he even realizes Baekhyun has moved.

The demon's eyes open wide in shock, and a moment of absolute stillness passes. The demon doubles over in cruel, mocking laughter. The shadows flicker.

"Oh, Baekhyun," he sneers, "You can fight it, deny it all you like, but the truth of it all is that you are a _halfling._ " The word sears through the air between them, and Baekhyun's expression wavers only slightly towards anger before smoothing out again. He's riled, the fingers curled around the Demon's wrist tensing, his own claws sliding out and sinking into the other's flesh. He doesn't want the demon to know just how bothered he is, but it's enough--the demon has seen.

"Wearing that skin," the demon continues, taunting. "Dressing like that, talking like them, but it's all just a ruse." He lifts one clawed finger and jabs at Baekhyun's heart. _"Halfling."_ A beat. A grin. The fire along the street flares.

Baekhyun lashes out; his left heel hooks harshly into the back of the demon's knee. He pulls, claws still deep in the other's wrist. The demon falls to his knees. Baekhyun jerks his foot away, setting it firmly back on the ground as his base and planting the other in the crease of the demon's hip. The demon winces harshly, his flaming eyes focused on Baekhyun's blank face.

"I am nothing like you," Baekhyun asserts. The demon smirks then, and he shifts so that Baekhyun's boot is pressed that much harder into the ridge of his stomach and hipbone. He twists his wrist so that blood flows more freely over his arm and the markings there. He stares at Baekhyun with challenge in his eyes and watches as Baekhyun struggles to not enjoy the pain the demon is causing himself.

"You cannot be anything _but_ like me," the demon continues, his voice laced with disbelief at Baekhyun’s claim. “Seeing as you are half of what I am." His eyes are coals that smolder with Hell's flames.

"You've been obnoxious long enough," Baekhyun says, avoiding the topic. The blood on the demon’s arm shimmers. "Leave."

"Oh, but I came here to give you something," the demon says, voice sliding over his words. They ring as if he is pleased with himself. And he probably is; upsetting Baekhyun might have been his entire plan.

"What is it?" Baekhyun says. It's a demand even if he does not show it through his tone. With the hand Baekhyun hasn't buried his claws into, the demon reaches into his pocket and pulls out an envelope. Baekhyun snatches it from him.

"You've been assigned," the demon explains. "Orders from the Lord Tamer. He's decided that your turn to prove yourself has come, Watcher." Baekhyun swallows. The fire outside flares higher, and he can nearly smell the panic beginning to rise from the people in the city. An ache begins to build along his shoulder blades.

"Is that all?" he asks, impatience bleeding through. The demon nods, but his grin is far too bright.

The clock has struck midnight. Night Hunt has begun; the moon begins to bleed.

"Does it hurt?" the demon mocks. His voice now echoes with the screams of the humans still trapped outside and his eyes flame with hellfire. 

Baekhyun closes his eyes, hiding the way they've begun to burn as well. "It's time for you to leave," he says.

The demon sneers. "You'll have to say my name for that to work." Baekhyun tightens his grip on the demon's wrist and feels satisfaction when he hisses from the pain.

_"Open,"_ he says, calling upon his training to become a Tamer: the direct opposite of these demons, one who can breach the gap between the Earthly plane and Hell itself, one who controls demons.

The gate opens, the deep red miasma of hell spinning beneath where the demon kneels.

"Eventually," the demon says. "You will see just how much more you are of my people than those humans."

Baekhyun releases the demon's arms, holds out his hand, and lets the demon's blood drip into the gate.

_"Demon Prince Kai,"_ he orders. _"Leave."_ The demon, Kai, is swallowed whole by the gate and returned to hell, his cackle ringing in the sudden quiet of the room. Baekhyun breathes. The pain in his back is worse now, flaring along the lines of a tattoo-like marking he has had since birth, calling him to join in the feast. His mouth feels a little too full as his fangs drop from his gums. He closes the blackout curtains and ignores the noise, grabbing the envelope and tearing it open.

"Yes," he says to the emptiness around him. "It does hurt."

Baekhyun stares down at the plane ticket, tracing out the letters for Seoul, South Korea with a barely concealed sense of panic and excitement. His eyes are dull.

***

The morning comes quicker than Baekhyun expects it to. He wakes with tears tracked down his cheeks, his nails, slightly elongated, dig into the skin of his shoulders as he subconsciously tries to distract himself from the pain. Every fortnight during Night Hunt, his body is at war with itself, but Baekhyun refuses to give in to the sweet call of human blood and energy. He refuses to dance among the flames that litter the streets. He refuses to be anything but human himself.

Baekhyun rolls onto his back, slowly stretching his body out from the fetal position. His knees ache in protest, and Baekhyun hisses at the residual ache in his back. He takes three slow breaths, waiting for his fangs, heavy in his mouth, to retract. He waits for his lips, dry from being forced open with his fangs, to relax and for his gums to calm in their swelling.

It's nearly an hour before Baekhyun moves again, but the hands on his clock only point towards a quarter past seven in the morning. Baekhyun blinks blearily, his vision fading in and out of that space between consciousness and truly waking. For a moment, he realizes he's seeing, breathing, tasting the energies in the room around him, and then he blinks and it's gone. The pain recedes. Baekhyun rises.

His room in the Watchers' quarters is one of the few single rooms in the entire complex, and Baekhyun feels the loneliness constantly. Acutely. If humans are social creatures, demons are even more so, and the solidarity leaves a foul taste in his mouth. However, the solitude is a protective measure for both himself and the other Watchers. Baekhyun, his body torn between two worlds, is never sure how the presence of another will affect his demon side. Even though it hurts, Baekhyun finds loneliness to be preferable.

There’s a loud knock on the door. Baekhyun finishes zipping up his Watcher uniform, leaning his head back so the zip doesn’t catch on his skin.

“Who is it?” he calls out, cracking his neck and stretching out his shoulders. His voice is rough, but he doesn’t cough to clear it. The gruff quality grates on his own ears, but at least it keeps his emotions low and in check. In his experience, the lighter his voice is the more expressive it becomes. Keeping a tight grip on matters of the heart is the first way to keep a handle on his demon half. 

At least, that’s what Baekhyun was taught, and so far it has worked well for him even though he is still uncertain exactly _how_ that was discovered. He _is_ the first halfling ever in the history of the world, the first mix of human love and satanic instinct, and no one will ever let him forget it.

“Lord Tamer sent me, halfling,” the low voice of a demon Prince, one of the Lord Tamer’s own, rings through the heavy wood of the door. Baekhyun nods, resigning himself to the presence of another leader of a demon court. Kai’s presence is headache enough, his power tempting enough, but this prince is far more powerful than Kai could ever hope to be.

“Come, Chanyeol,” he says blandly in the direction of his door. “You may enter.” It’s a formality, verbally granting the demon prince entrance. Without Chanyeol’s blood on his fingers, Baekhyun is powerless over him. In the hierarchy of demons, Chanyeol is in the top tier as a high-level demon. As a demon Prince, he’s in command of a court of his own and has legions of demons under his control.

The door creaks open, and Chanyeol, tall, the sharp point to his ears exaggerated beyond what most demons' ears look like, enters. His eyes are blazing, and the deep cadence of his voice holds an otherworldly echo the same way Kai's does. It sends a shiver down Baekhyun's spine, but it's not unpleasant.

"The Lord Tamer sends me," Chanyeol repeats, his voice now clear without the hindrance of the door. Baekhyun turns to face him, keeping his head down. There is something about the fire in Chanyeol's eyes that calls to him more than the other demons. Even Demon Prince Kai, though he holds the same status as a prince of a demon court, does not cause Baekhyun's instincts to flare up the way Chanyeol's presence does.

"So you said," Baekhyun murmurs, voice even. He doesn't ask what Lord Tamer has sent Chanyeol for nor does he make any indication that he cares to know. Directly after a Night Hunt and forced into Chanyeol's presence, Baekhyun’s body is thrumming a little too much with fear and need. His gums ache the slightest bit, a sign that his fangs are threatening to drop again. Baekhyun clenches his jaw.

"A gift," Chanyeol announces, holding out the parcel in his hand. He leans close to Baekhyun, stepping up in front of him, his chin and mouth ghosting over Baekhyun's hair. He feels hot and powerful, and Baekhyun knows Night Hunt went well for him, that his court fed well on the souls of humans caught in their claws and torn away from the earth plane. Baekhyun holds his breath so as not to taste the fear of humans long gone on Chanyeol's skin and so as not to feel the urge to lean in and sink his fangs into the skin of Chanyeol's neck to taste the residue of their souls.

"From Lord Tamer," Chanyeol murmurs, voice harsh against the shell of Baekhyun's ear. "You were hungry," he adds. Baekhyun bristles, and clamps down on the urge to lash out.

"Give it to me then," he orders without power. He feels unsafe, body wracked by the presence of a demon and the need to pledge loyalty to him, his human side wanting to feel his blood on his fingertips and control him.

Chanyeol's fingers close around Baekhyun's wrist, his sharp nails scraping in warning over the skin. Turning Baekhyun's palm upright, he sets a loose square of what feels like fabric on it, and Baekhyun berates himself for not paying attention to what the demon was carrying when he walked in or even bothering to look at him.

_Giving the advantage by ignoring them,_ he hears his mentor's words in his head, _is possibly the dumbest thing you could do. You're one of them, Baekhyun. If you let yourself act like one of their demons, then you'll never manage a taming._

"The Lord Tamer wishes you luck on your trip," Chanyeol says. "He expects you to be successful." Chanyeol straightens, and Baekhyun opens his eyes, suddenly able to breathe without the demon so close to him. He focuses on the package in his hand, looking at the paper sealed by the Lord Tamer's seal.

"May I?" He asks, not waiting for Chanyeol to say yes or no or nod before he's moving towards his bed, setting the package down lightly. He feels more human with more space between himself and the demon prince.

With careful fingers, he slides a nail underneath the wax and pulls the the paper apart. Folded neatly beneath the wrapping is a set of clothes that has Baekhyun's pulse racing just a little too quickly in anticipation.

"Your uniform," Chanyeol says, and Baekhyun wants to break out in a grin or to snap 'I know' at the Prince, but he does neither. He simply unfolds the jacket and coat, and tries on the flexible leather of the fingerless gloves. Though not the most practical of protective gear, skin to blood contact is the only way a blood exchange can be completed. Such a show of skin is a staple to the costumes worn by tamers and watchers alike. Baekhyun wonders just what exactly the Lord Tamer means by giving him this.

"The crest?" Baekhyun asks, holding out his hand expectantly. Chanyeol shakes his head, and the jewelry pressed into his ears clanks together.

"To be granted upon your return with new markings upon your arm," the demon answers. "That's really your only option."

"What?"

Chanyeol hums, the rich tone ringing with foreboding. "You being here is a risk for Lord Tamer to take. He never knows when you'll just disappear during Night Hunt, when you will simply dive after a banished demon and follow him down to Hell." Baekhyun says nothing. It's the reason he keeps himself locked inside on Night Hunt instead of going out to fulfill his duties as a Watcher. The Lord Tamer's fear is legitimate and not something Baekhyun has any words of refute for.

"You've always been on a clock, Watcher," Chanyeol murmurs, words casual and tone anything but. "You've always been a question for Lord Tamer. He gave you twenty one years. Either become a Tamer or be put down for the sake of the community." He grins. Baekhyun doesn't bother to point out that Watchers have until their twenty first birthday to Tame their first Demon. That’s the law. Chanyeol is baiting him, and Baekhyun refuses to react. He'll be in trouble with the Lord Tamer and his mentor if he does lash out.

"You could always join my court," Chanyeol offers. "Hell will like you." Baekhyun turns and meets Chanyeol's blazing eyes, keeping his own carefully blank.

"That's everything you had to do here?" Baekhyun states more than asks, gesturing towards the gift now laid out on his rumpled sheets. The corner of Chanyeol's mouth twitches up, and the wicked glint of his angled canine tooth draws Baekhyun's eyes.

"You can't make me leave, halfling," Chanyeol whispers even as he turns back towards Baekhyun's door. "You can't make me do anything." He’s not facing Baekhyun anymore; the air around the demon shimmers with heat that Baekhyun can feel even this far from him. His voice echoes in Baekhyun's chest.

"You're more us than you are them," he says. Baekhyun can practically hear the wicked grin on his face. "Halfling." Baekhyun clenches his fists, and Chanyeol sweeps his way out of the room, pausing with the door wide open.

"That's why you only have two options," Chanyeol says. "Tame or be killed." 

The door slams. Baekhyun exhales. He's never wanted to tame a low-level demon because they're ugly and unintelligent, but taming a mid-level would open up the possibility of letting too much demon blood into his system. That’s the point of the blood exchange, to exchange blood between demons and Tamers, to give Tamers control over the demons. That’s how Tamers can break open the gates on nights other than those of Night Hunt. With a Tamer’s own blood combined with the demon’s whom they’ve performed the blood exchange on, the demon’s presence on either plane is purely up to the jurisdiction of the Tamer.

Of course, there are drawbacks to the system; demons, as powerful as they are, could never come solely under a human’s power. A killed demon who has been tamed means the death of his or her Tamer as well, but the death of that Tamer does not necessarily mean death for the demon.

Baekhyun stares down at the Taming uniform spread on his bed. It's a gamble, but Baekhyun isn't ready to die; he's ready to prove to them all that he's more human than they've ever let him believe.

***

Baekhyun catches himself staring at the ticket to Incheon too often, tracing his fingers carefully over the characters of his name. He hasn’t been to Seoul in a very long time, having been brought to the organization directly after his birth. He wonders if the perfect demon for him to tame will rise to the earthly plane while he’s there. He figures one must be or else Lord Tamer wouldn’t be sending him halfway around the world.

He flexes a fist a few times, watches his nails grow out slightly, the tips appearing black as they stretch out into claws before he breathes and they draw back under his skin, sinking into regular human nails. His energy right now is excessive, and the skin on his back burns where the markings of his half-demon heritage reside.

He needs to _move,_ to do something, anything that will keep him from baring his teeth at the next person who says hello to him. He doesn't need to let his energy spike around. He can't be allowed to lose any sort of control when he's this close to being sent on actual Watcher duty.

There are rare enough opportunities for Watchers to be sent out on Night Hunt to face the demons and to possibly tame one of their own, but most Watchers begin receiving chances to test their skills and control over demon blood by the time they've turned sixteen. At twenty, Baekhyun has yet to have such a chance, telling himself that he prefers to stay locked up inside his room with the curtains drawn, pretending he can't feel the raging of the fire on the streets and the rise in spirit as human soul are taken to hell for demons to feast upon.

He tells himself repeatedly that he's a human before he's a demon. The burning on his back right now seems to argue with him, and with a hiss he grabs his sweatshirt and heads out the door of his room, slamming it closed behind him. The rattling of the metal hinges is more satisfying than it should be, and Baekhyun forces his face blank again, making a beeline for the gym. He needs to run; he needs to hit something. He needs to distract himself from the thoughts about what he might find in Seoul that are plaguing his mind.

The faint buzzing assaulting Baekhyun's ears becomes less of his own thoughts and more of the distinct sounds of gym equipment in use the closer he gets to the gym. It sounds horrendously busy, but Baekhyun has a sneaking suspicion that at this hour, past midnight a few days away from Night Hunt, there is only one person in the gym. Two technically, if he counts the demon that he can feel, its energy creeping up his throat and drawing him in.

_Human,_ he reminds himself and steps inside the doors to the training area.

"Still too slow, Jiminnie!" crows a voice that's far too rough for the sweet face that it belongs to, but Baekhyun has known Taehyung for years. He's unafraid of everything, his unbonded arm marked up with the tattoos of his tribe, and his messy hair constantly falling in his eyes because he's too lazy to trim it. (That, and the last time he tried, he cut off a large chunk that he hadn't intended to, and he'd looked more ridiculous than Baekhyun can safely express.)

Taehyung is in the center ring of the organization's gym, his skin shimmering in the harsh lighting with the sweat coating him. The demon across from him is whipping his tail around him in annoyance, his fangs poking at his lower lips as he snarls.

"Fucking brat," the demon, Jimin, snaps, and he lunges forward, nails fully lengthened and hardened into claws. Taehyung steps smoothly to the side, hitching his knee up, and Baekhyun’s own stomach aches with sympathy for the pain Jimin must be feeling. Jimin drops heavily to the ground, and Taehyung laughs. He sounds actually delighted, but Baekhyun can see the tension still sitting, ready to be released, in the muscles on Jimin’s arms. 

“Can’t ever beat me,” Taehyung is teasing. “I’m your Tamer-- _fuck!_ ” Jimin lashes out with his leg, his shin colliding hard with the backs of Taehyung’s knees, and Taehyung drops forward, momentum to roll with the blow stopped by Jimin pressing down hard on his calves. The demon hauls himself up, straddling the backs of Taehyung’s thighs, and Baekhyun watches the Tamer pull his thighs in hard and twist before his demon can settle fully on top of him. Taehyung grabs Jimin’s wrists, pressing his thumbs hard into the demon’s palms and keeping his claws far from the backs of his hands. 

Baekhyun’s own fingertips throb with the excitement of the fight, his claws sitting just under his skin and pricking the nerves there. 

Jimin stops struggling suddenly, turning his head sharply and diving out of Taehyung’s grip to stand in front of his tamer, keeping him shielded with his body. Baekhyun stares, unimpressed at him.

“Jiminnie, what are you- Baekhyunnie!” Taehyung practically launches himself over Jimin, skittering to a halt in front of Baekhyun and breathing hard.

“My bestest pal,” Taehyung cries, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. “How long has it been since you last graced me with your presence, princeling?” Baekhyun’s lip twitches, caught between smiling and growling at his self-proclaimed best friend. He’s grateful for Taehyung who treats him like he’s nothing abnormal, like he’s just Baekhyun. Baekhyun would almost dare to say Taehyung treats him like he’s human, except that Taehyung has this theory that Baekhyun is the son of a demon prince, and the nickname of ‘princeling’ grew out of that.

“I suppose that’s better than ‘halfling,’” Baekhyun says in monotone. He leans back to avoid the playful punch Taehyung aims at his shoulder.

“Come to spar?” Taehyung asks, and Jimin growls lightly, coming up to drape a protective arm over his Tamer. His upper lip curls back, showing Baekhyun his fangs, and Baekhyun is so tempted to bare his own, but he takes a deep, even breath instead.

“I didn’t,” he murmurs, eyeing Jimin. Despite Taehyung and his friendship, the demon has never liked Baekhyun. Taehyung tells him not to worry about it, that Jimin is simply jealous. Baekhyun has learned it’s best to stuff some sort of snack in Taehyung’s mouth before his friend can launch into a tale of how he punishes Jimin’s jealous behavior.

The bond between Tamer and demon is one that is special to every pair; no blood exchange works exactly the same beyond the physical markings that every Tamer displays. Even the tattoos are special to each demon, every one showing something about the demon which the Tamer has tamed.

Taehyung and Jimin happen to have a very physical relationship, but there is a sense of affection between them as well. It’s something Baekhyun shouldn’t be able to sense, but he blames Taehyung’s heritage as the last surviving member of the demon worshipping tribes for the obvious connection between them that extends beyond the boundaries of their blood exchange.

“Want to anyway?” Taehyung encourages, shrugging Jimin off of him and gesturing back towards the mat.

“Tamer-” Jimin starts, but Taehyung turns sharp eyes on him. Jimin falls silent, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy. Taehyung’s glare turns fond, and he throws his arms around Jimin’s neck, peppering his cheeks with kisses.

“You’re really too cute, Jiminnie,” Taehyung coos. “But you really need to leave Baekhyunnie alone, okay?”

“But-!” Taehyung shuts up Jimin’s complaint with a sharp tug on the demon’s tail, and Jimin yelps. A demon’s tail is ridiculously sensitive, bundles of nerves gathered at its base. Baekhyun is glad to not be in possession of that part of demonic anatomy.

“Hush,” Taehyung chides, combing his fingers through Jimin’s hair. “Go home for a little, okay? I’ll call you back out later.” The Tamer wiggles his eyebrows, and Baekhyun wishes he hadn’t just seen the way Jimin’s eyes light up wickedly. He shoves the dissettlement down, the emotion crawling like ants under his skin, desperate to be let out. The markings on his back prick on his skin.

“I don’t trust you alone with the halfling,” Jimin whispers none too quietly, and Baekhyun whirls, catching himself just in time from snarling at the demon.

“Shut up, mid-level,” he whispers in return.

“Or what?” Jimin challenges, and his voice is starting to echo in his throat, an intimidation tactic all demons like to employ. Baekhyun has heard his own voice echo in his throat at the peak of Night Hunt, however, and the attempt goes past him with nothing more than a shrug on his part. “You’ll shut me up?” Jimin taunts. His language has become awfully informal, and Baekhyun thinks Taehyung must really keep him out a lot. Demons need Hell’s miasma to survive, but tamed demons are able to stay on the Earth plane for quite some time depending on the strength of the blood exchange between them and their Tamers--the closer the connection, the longer a demon can survive.

“No,” Baekhyun says. Jimin starts to grin triumphantly, but it’s premature. “Something like that is too easy and not at all worth my time or energy.” It’s a bluff, but with Taehyung here, Baekhyun is safe from any real damage the demon could do to him.

“You’re asking for it, halfling,” Jimin spits.

“All talk,” Baekhyun returns, his eyes half-lidded. His heart is starting to race, his body preparing for an attack. Jimin lunges, tail whipping behind him, and Baekhyun crosses his arms, blocking him. They crash to the ground, rolling head over heels as they dig claws into each other’s skin. Baekhyun hears warning bells in his head, telling him to not let his demon side out, to contain it, to best Jimin as a Watcher and not as a fellow creature of the underworld.

Jimin plants his knee in Baekhyun’s side, and Baekhyun twists, snagging Jimin’s arms and yanking it hard behind the demon’s back. Jimin yowls, and the heat of hellfire rages on his skin without the presence of the actual flames. He’d have to be a prince to do that. 

Baekhyun lets go as the heat sears through his palms, and he kicks hard, driving his foot against Jimin’s sternum. The demon rears back, falling onto his hands and launching himself back up. They meet in the middle, Jimin snarling and hissing and Baekhyun fighting to hold onto his humanity as red tinges his vision. 

_”Open!”_ Taehyung yells, and Baekhyun feels a deep pull in his gut, pausing with his hand securely around Jimin’s fist, the tips of his nails digging into the scabbed flesh of his knuckles. Underneath their feet, a gate swirls, and Baekhyun and Jimin both turn to stare at Taehyung. 

The Tamer stands with his hand outstretched, blood dripping from the palm of his marked arm, the tattoos that mirror the ones on Jimin’s skin pulsing black as night. Jimin breathes hard, shooting Baekhyun one last unhappy, distrustful look, before he shoves Baekhyun back and allows the Hell portal to rise up around him.

_”Return!_ Taehyung shouts, voice rough, features hardened in careful concentration, and Jimin is swallowed by the gate, slipping from the Earth plane to Hell.

The air in the gym is silent and still except Baekhyun and Taehyung who are both breathing hard, trying to reclaim their composure. Baekhyun closes his eyes and focuses on his image, on the human face he watches in the mirror every morning while he brushes his teeth. He feels the slight ache in his fingers as his claws retract, and he revels in the sense of relief he feels when the overfull feeling in his mouth disappears along with his fangs. The tattoos on his back keep right on burning though, and Baekhyun stubbornly ignores it. 

“Are you okay?” he asks Taehyung, and the Tamer pauses in carefully cleaning the sharp knife in his hand with a cloth that he tucks back into his pocket.

“I would have a lot to worry about if I couldn’t handle a simple dismissal, princeling,” Taehyung answers, slipping the knife into its holster on his thigh. It’s a standard issue thing that all Tamers carry. After the blood exchange has been performed, a Tamer’s own blood becomes the method through his he can control his demon.

“Is it normally that- you seem out of sorts,” Baekhyun says delicately. He licks at the blood on his lip from his fang digging in. Taehyung shakes his head.

“He was drawing on our exchange,” Taehyung says, voice a bit bitter. “He’d been on the earth plane for too long. He would have been completely overwhelmed by you in your scuffle otherwise.” Baekhyun stares and allows himself to raise an eyebrow. Jimin is a duke, that much he knows from an accidental slip when Taehyung was drunk once. He’s no ordinary mid-level demon- he’s powerful, his power enough to gain the attention and devotion of a demon prince. Baekhyun, as a halfling doesn’t have anywhere near that kind of power.

“I keep telling you, Baekhyunnie, and one day you’re going to believe it,” Taehyung says. “Your demon parent is a prince. Even my demon believes it.”

“Is that why he hates me?” Baekhyun says doubtfully.

“It’s jealousy, Baekhyunnie,” Taehyung answers with a sigh. “I’ve told you before. Jimin is jealous of you.”

“Over you, of course,” Baekhyun’s voice is mild, slightly detached. Taehyung laughs and gestures towards the sparring mat. Baekhyun makes no sort of agreement except to toe off his shoes and step up behind the Tamer.

“My demon loves me,” Taehyung states with no room to argue. The type of love he’s talking about is debatable, in Baekhyun’s opinion, but that’s not the point. “He doesn’t want me alone with you because he thinks you could be tamed.”

“I’m human-”

“Half-human,” Taehyung interrupts easily. Baekhyun knows his retort was to be expected, after all. “And half of a powerful demon. You’re a wild card, and he’s possessive.” Baekhyun wants to snort, to roll his eyes, to ruffle Taehyung’s hair and tell him his relationship with Jimin is cute even if the demon has him marked in the first three lines of his hit list, but he can’t. He folds his hands in front of him, flexing his toes on the soft mat.

“It seems excessively possessive,” Baekhyun says. “And over the top. We’re just friends.”

“Best friends,” Taehyung corrects, mildly miffed. It’s amusing, really, and Baekhyun doesn’t refuse the title, just refuses to say it for Taehyung’s reactions. “I don’t think it really is over the top. He’s a demon. He doesn’t try to control his emotions. Demons are more in tune with their true nature than humans. Isn’t that why you act all neutral all the time?” That is, in fact, the exact reason Baekhyun doesn’t allow his emotions to show. Even simple things like laughter, or being disgruntled at the First Tamer’s rules and expectations, bring his demon side to the surface, simmering under his skin, and it’s a feeling Baekhyun has come to despise.

He turns and walks to his own corner of the sparring mat, shrugging off his jacket. “Are we sparring?” He calls, changing the subject. He doesn’t like to think about his demonic nature, no matter how accepting of it Taehyung is. But, Taehyung was raised to love demons, so Baekhyun can’t really expect anything else from him. The people who started his tribe revered demons as gods, and though Taehyung might not worship them, per se, he definitely respects their power.

“Are you ready yet, princeling?” Taehyung calls back, mocking Baekhyun’s tone of voice--bland and dry. “Come on. Hit me.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Baekhyun tells Taehyung, showing his clawless hands. Taehyung rolls his eyes, and the corners of his lips quirk up in a devilish smile. In his mouth, Baekhyun’s fangs throb.

“Please, Baekhyunnie,” Taehyung says, and that wicked mischief is back in his eyes. “My demon is a duke. I know exactly what I’m getting into.”

Challenge tastes rich like blood on Baekhyun’s tongue, and he takes in a deep breath.

“Come at me, bruh,” Taehyung jokes. Baekhyun lunges.

***

Flying from O’Hare International Airport to Incheon International is a hassle. The energy of the people around him is all hurried, parents shouting at their children to put their bags down and hurry through security, business men continuously checking their watches and hoping to catch their flight. Baekhyun breathes thinly through his nose, trying hard to ignore the anxiety that making his fingers twitch and his body start to try to protect itself.

Around the Gatewatcher facilities, Baekhyun knows everyone, knows the energies there, and is, at this point, mostly immune to that brand of hurriedness and desperation. He’s used to feeling the rush and the fear that comes with sparring, and he’s used to the judgement when people stare at him, the word ‘halfling’ a warning, curse, and name on their tongues. Here, no one blinks twice at him for anything other than having a name the security personnel can’t properly pronounce. 

By the time he’s seated on his flight, he’s exhausted already. The sudden lack in desperate energies as people are lulled into security, away from demons and away from long lines of security, has Baekhyun feeling empty. His eyes slip closed as the plane races down the runway ramp, and he hopes that his claws stay hidden if something startles him from sleep right before he drifts off, clouds and blue sky welcoming him to dreams.

Behind his eyelids, all he sees is hellfire. It’s not a nightmare, just an uncomfortable familiarity that makes him feel welcomed. Night Hunt is close. 

Baekhyun arrives in Incheon and is immediately hit by the need to get away from the airport, away from the hustle and bustle of people around him, and he types the hotel’s address into his Gatewatcher issued phone. It’s at times like this when Baekhyun believes there could be a god, but he remembers always a second too late that even if one were to exist, he’d have no place with him. He’s a half-demon.

Baekhyun doesn’t have to do much but flash his Gatewatchers ID to receive his room key, the concierge looking a bit fearful. Not of him, at least, but because the presence of Watchers and Tamers is universally understood to mean Night Hunt is near.

Night Hunt starts in approximately twelve hours, Baekhyun gauges by the prickling of the markings on his back. He’s never been wrong before. He knows, though he refuses to admit it, that his demon side can sense the coming demons better than even the gauges at the Gatewatchers’ headquarters that line the walls of the First Tamer’s office. 

Baekhyun’s hotel room is nothing more than a bed, nightstand, desk, TV, and bathroom, but it’s fancier than what he has in his room at the headquarters. It’s pleasing to be away for just a moment. He feels that immediate rush of energy through his body as he enjoys an emotion, and he quickly returns to his carefully constructed human mask. 

He drops his suitcase, packed with nothing but a large t-shirt and the gift from the First Tamer. Baekhyun digs that out, spreading the jacket out, fingering the stiff leather of the gloves, and touching his fingertips to the left breast of the jacket where the Gatewatchers crest will be stitched a few days from now. He’s nervous, but he’s also determined. 

Stretching out on his stomach on the bed, Baekhyun sighs. He’s not really tired, but Night Hunt is tonight, and Baekhyun needs all the rest he can get if he’s going out when demons roam the streets. He needs to keep a careful hold on himself, both demon and human. 

He doesn’t bother to set an alarm, the burning of his markings will be enough to wake him.

***

Baekhyun jolts awake to the feeling of fire inside him, fire around him. Hellfire. He gasps, flying up from the bed and holding his throat as he fights for air. The burning on his back is intense, the markings there, the truth of his heritage, fighting to force him to go out, to dance in the hellfire, to take a human soul and devour it--

“Stop,” Baekhyun says to no one. The ring of his voice in the empty room cuts through the buzzing in his head, the whispers of demons rising to the earth plane, waiting for the tear to open, and Baekhyun focuses on breathing.

The burning doesn’t stop, but Baekhyun doesn’t think it will. He stands slowly, feeling his equilibrium totter momentarily as he fights between his human and demon instincts. He wants to flee, but he wants to fight. Most of all though, Baekhyun wants to succeed. Chanyeol’s warning is stark in the forefront of his mind, and Baekhyun’s clock is ticking. 

He’s not going to explode, he’s not going to wreak havoc, and he’s not going to become a demon. Gatewatchers, and Lord Tamer himself, apparently, don’t believe that. They don’t have that type of faith in him. Challenge, as always, tastes rich on Baekhyun’s tongue. He’s going to tame a demon tonight, or he’s going to die trying. Death in battle would be easier to bear than dying at the hands of Lord Tamer’s demons as he stands and awaits his end.

Night Hunt begins with a grating, horrific screech and a flash of moonlight as fire rages up along the edges of the streets. The air crackles with impending death, and the screams of civilians, harmless and tasty in the mind of a demon, scratch through Baekhyun’s ear drums. 

He sets himself into motion, pulling on the uniform Lord Tamer had gifted to him, slipping his hands into the gloves and flexing his fingers. The palms of the gloves have been cut out, unhindered access to the easiest source of blood. Baekhyun leans down to lace his boots, and the stretch of the fabric of his shirt against the burning mark on his back teases a wince from him. He’s content to just stand at the window, buttons fastened and mentally preparing himself to head out into Night Hunt as he waits out part one.

Night Hunt is an odd sort of phenomenon. The event, so to speak, is divided into two parts determined easily as _before midnight_ and _after midnight._ Watchers, like Baekhyun, are traditionally only allowed out during the pre-midnight part of Night Hunt. The reasoning is simple, and Baekhyun understands; low-level and the occasional mid-level demons are the only ones who come out during the first half of the night. For Watchers who have the training to be Tamers but are not ones yet, it’s safer as they have no demon to call upon to protect them should they run up against a demon too strong for their ability. Tamers during the first half of night hunt tend to turn their energies towards watching over the Watchers, making sure they don’t end up dead.

Casualties are low, but the possibility of one occurring is still extremely high. Baekhyun has attended enough in-organization funerals to know. 

However, Baekhyun, as a half-demon himself, knows no Tamer will bother to watch over him during the first half of the night, or even the second. His fingertips are starting to ache, and Baekhyun stands watch at the window of his hotel room as the seconds tick by.

He only makes it to half past eleven o’clock when his muscles start to scream in protest at being held still. He turns sharply on one heel, barely remembering to grab a room key and tuck it in his boot before he strides out the door and heads for the all-access stairs. He doesn’t want to join the fray just yet. Standing on the rooftop will get him outside, let his demon side relax and believe he’s doing what it wants, and it will keep him away from the fighting.

He wants a good demon, if he must have one. He wants one with power and strength. If nothing else but to prove to Lord Tamer and to the man who trained him to control his emotion that he is a good Watcher and a great Tamer. He has trained his whole life for this. With his twenty years on the line, this has to be good.

It has to be a taming that Lord Tamer approves of, after all. All tamings are subject to his approval, and his lack of approval will be the demon’s death and the Tamer’s death subsequently. Humans are fragile creatures, Baekhyun thinks, and then quickly includes himself in the thought process. He’s a fragile creature; nevermind that he’s never suffered a bruise in his life. 

He’s human. He’s a Watcher. He’s going to tame a demon.

Baekhyun steps out into Night Hunt, and the screams assault him from even this high up, fearful energy everywhere even with very few civilians on the streets. Most places are locked down, the doors guarded by Tamers twirling their blades in their hands. It’s an art Baekhyun has never needed to learn. His claws from his heritage are just as sharp.

He observes the way Watchers test demons out, instantly cutting into the flesh of low-level demons, recognizable by their caricatured features and inability to recreate human speech, and screaming _”return!”_ once they’ve spilled the low-level’s blood. The mid-levels give Watchers pause, and Baekhyun is idle and barely amused by the hand to hand combat they engage in. He watches one Watcher fall to the ground, and a Tamer and his demon appear from out of nowhere to cut the demon down.

Tamers never help Watchers complete a taming. It’s shameful, and the taming won’t be approved by Lord Tamer anyway. Honestly, Baekhyun should find it to be a sick and disgusting business, but maybe there’s too much bloodthirst in him for that to be the case. 

His back stops burning, and the screaming stops.

“Midnight!” A Tamer screams in a foghorn voice from the ground. Baekhyun turns and dashes down the steps, hurrying down a dozen flights of stairs and shoving himself through the emergency exit, ignoring the alarm as the door shuts firmly behind him.

Nausea slams into him, bowling him over as the taste of rotted souls and Hell’s miasma stick to his tongue and coat his throat. He gags hard, holding onto his humanity with an iron grip. A Watcher near him whirls on her heel, turning with her knife held in reverse grip, the other arm in a cross block across her body.

Baekhyun breathes hard, glancing up at her with wide eyes. The other Watcher’s eyes fix on his own eyes, certainly wild and edging on unearthly, and the lack of a crest on his Tamer’s jacket.

“Watcher?” she asks carefully, rocking on her heels, ready to move according to Baekhyun’s answer or if he should prove a threat. Baekhyun keeps his hands in plain view and hopes the girl doesn’t notice the lack of a knife holster strapped to his leg. 

“Watcher,” Baekhyun answers stiffly. “Chicago. Headquarters.” The girl nods, relaxing only slightly. Her eyes roam away from Baekhyun, fixing instead on the streets, waiting for the second half of Night Hunt to begin. The energy is starting to rise in the air again, and Baekhyun thinks within three minutes the hellfire will rage over the streets curbs again. 

“Seoul branch,” the Watcher answers easily, and Baekhyun figures that’s to be expected. He’s probably the only headquarters-based Watcher (soon to be Tamer!) here tonight.

“You look young,” Baekhyun says, voice dull. His fingers ache with the rush of concern trying to fill his chest.

“This is my fifth hunt out,” the girl sniffs. She wipes her demon blood-stained hand on a rag hanging from her belt. “Yerim,” she introduces. Baekhyun jams his tongue between his teeth to shake her hand, feeling the spike of her energy as two warm palms meet. Physical contact is one of those things that has always felt exponentially more powerful to him than to the average human.

“Baekhyun,” he responds. 

“Listen, Baekhyun,” the Watcher, Yerim, says. “We have to head in- the rules, you know. I’m staying a block away.” She jerks her thumb over her left shoulder. Baekhyun isn’t planning to go in, that’s why he’s just come out, but for Yerim, at least, he can make sure she gets in safe.

“Fine,” he murmurs. “I’ll walk you.” Yerim starts leading the way immediately in a brisk jog. There’s less than two minutes, by Baekhyun’s estimate, remaining before the gates break open again.

“This area,” Yerim pants lightly as they run. “Has been reported to be pretty power heavy. We spent most of first half making sure it’s completely cleared out of people on the streets. Locked up the natural gates as much as we could.”

“We?” Baekhyun repeats.

“Yeah,” Yerim gasps, turning a corner down an alley to the back entrance of an apartment building. “Tamers and Watchers.” Baekhyun doesn’t react to his surprise. “They’re serious about this area. The energy reading is-” She makes a general explosion gesture with her hands, and Baekhyun kind of wants to laugh. She’s cute. 

Yerim and Baekhyun slow to a walk, and Yerim pulls a scrap of paper from her pocket.

“Always forget the code,” she says, eyes curved up, smile sheepish. Baekhyun doesn’t react. He needs to stay focused, he needs to-

_Fire._ It blasts up from the edges of the street and the buildings. Baekhyun slings an arm around Yerim, pulling her back and diving into the middle of the alley, as far away from the flames as he can get, covering her body with his own.

“Shit,” he hears her say, and her voice is already shaky. He can smell the tinges of something sour on her- fear. “We gotta-”

Baekhyun doesn’t hear the rest of her sentence. His ears ring, the wailing high pitched and ceaseless. He drops the side, rolling on his back with his mouth open and hands pressed over his ears. It hurts. Everything hurts. The muscles on his back must be peeling away from his bone for all the burning on his skin. His body shakes, and he can’t breathe without tasting the desire for a human soul on his tongue.

“Baekhyun!” He faintly registers Yerim screaming. The sound is high and tears at his eardrums. Baekhyun tries to hold on to his human side, tries to press everything down, to become numb and ignore this pain, this suffering. “Baekhyun!” Yerim screams again, and Baekhyun’s claws dig into his scalp.

He feels off-balance out here in the middle of the second half of Night Hunt, having never felt its potency before, and he’s losing the battle with himself.

Cool fingers slide over his wrists and against his cheeks, wiping at his skin carefully, and Baekhyun realizes tears are streaming down his face. 

“Baekhyun,” Yerim says, eyebrows furrowed, prying Baekhyun’s hands away from his head. “You’re bleeding-!” She cuts off, her eyes suddenly stricken with fear, focusing on Baekhyun’s fingers.

“You’re a demon,” Baekhyun reads from her lips more than he hears. 

“Half,” he manages to choke. It’s not exactly something Lord Tamer likes to broadcast, the fact that he has a halfling hidden among the ranks of his Watchers, and it’s not something Baekhyun wants people to know either; he wants to be human. At this point, however, it’s better that Yerim just know. He notices her temple is bleeding, drawing red down the side of her pretty face. The color flickers in the light of the flames around them.

“When we fell,” she explains automatically, noting where Baekhyun’s eyes are fixed. He nods, swallowing hard and forcing himself to sit up, to ignore the pain lancing through him, the terrible ache in his gums. 

“I can’t believe a Watcher is a half-demon,” she says. “I just can’t-”

“Get inside,” Baekhyun cuts her off, hoping to keep his voice away from a full out groan of pain. He doesn’t entirely succeed.

“Okay,” Yerim says, slowly forcing herself up to her feet. She holds out a hand. “Come on. You too.”

“No,” Baekhyun says. “You. Go.” The air suddenly waxes oppressive, and Baekhyun hunches forward under its weight. Even Yerim looks aware that something has changed, the flames around them turning dull red and flickering a little too low along the lines of the road. She looks frantically from side to side. _“Now.”_

Baekhyun’s voice echoes with his command, just like a real demon. He swallows hard, and Yerim gulps too.

“Yeah,” she agrees, taking one step backwards, and then another two in quick succession. “Yeah.” She turns to bolt to the door to her apartment as Baekhyun forces himself up onto his knees. 

The flames stop, and Yerim freezes, her shoulders heaving with her panicked breathing.

“Baekhyun…” she starts, looking back at him, and Baekhyun can see the tears in her eyes. 

_“Go now!”_ He roars, voice bouncing off the concrete. Yerim lets out a dry sob, and yellow flames scream to life. She stumbles back, and Baekhyun throws himself up to his feet. The horrible screech of iron gates fills the air around them, and even Yerim winces at it.

“Yerim,” Baekhyun says slowly. The markings on his back feels like a million needles being pressed into his skin. From the ground in front of Yerim, blocking her way to the apartment building’s back entrance door, a gaping maw of black and red miasma is rising.

“Yerim, you should-” Baekhyun starts again, but what should he say? Run? Out into the street where the rest of Night Hunt is happening? She’s a Watcher, she’ll be killed out there without a demon for sure. Step back? Towards him? He’s in less control of himself than he’s ever been in his life. 

The miasma solidifies into gates, the iron looking bars wrapped and warped with the bodies of snakes and spiders that writhe, the yellow flames lighting their marble eyes. Poison appears to drip from their fangs in the form of hell’s red miasma, and a low cackle that echoes into the deep black of the Night Hunt’s sky and bounces off the flames as they dance with its tune resounds around them.

Baekhyun’s throat constricts. Something like fear and something like arousal lance through him, and the pain is still all-consuming. His jaw works, unable to say anything, unable to warn Yerim who stands frozen with fear.

The gates split open.

Yerim screams.

A hand shoots from the depths of the gates and closes around her throat. Her scream cuts off, and her hands fly up to tug uselessly at the clawed hand wrapped firmly around her throat. She’s choking, and Baekhyun feels like he is too, just watching as one leg after the other steps out from the gate, the emerging demon’s cackle still leading the dance to which the hellfire around them moves. 

The demon’s tail _drags_ on the ground, and it hits Baekhyun moments too late.

A demon prince stands before him, not even fully emerged onto the earth plane and he’s made his first kill. Yerim’s body goes limp, her toes dragging on the ground. A scream tears from Baekhyun’s throat. He watches in abject terror as the demon prince licks his lips, dragging one long claw down the front of Yerim’s coat, tearing easily through the leather and fabric, blood spraying onto his wrist and bare chest as he splits a long line down her chest to her stomach.

Baekhyun wants to throw up. He’s going to throw up. Yet as the demon prince draws her shimmering blue soul from her body, Baekhyun feels his throat go dry in lust for the soul, to feel it slide down his throat. 

The demon prince swallows. Baekhyun wants that, to taste a human soul. _You’re human!_ he screams inside his own head as watches the demon toss Yerim’s corpse to the ground. Baekhyun can see the white bone of her sternum under the open flaps of skin and see her intestines threatening to spill out out of her torn stomach. 

The demon cackles again. “Hello, Little Watcher,” he says. His voice echoes around them, ringing in Baekhyun’s ears in a way that’s far too pleasant for the blood that stains the demon’s lips. To Baekhyun’s own horror, he finds the demon _handsome_ , his features sharp, angled ears decorated thoroughly with jewelry that glints in the hellfire light. His silver hair is far too pretty for a creature like him, Baekhyun tries to convince himself, but he’s mostly mesmerized by the shadows cast by the demon’s hair where it trails over his collarbones. The markings that wrap around his left arm are graceful, swirling around his skin with the fluidity of air and the intent of a hangman’s noose- breathtaking but never returning.

The demon prince looks over at Yerim’s body with a detached glance.

“You’re the only one here,” he murmurs in his echoing voice. It takes Baekhyun a few seconds of silence to realize that the demon is talking to him. He doesn’t react, forcing his breathing steady and pulling his cold mask of indifference over himself. The demon raises an eyebrow at him, no doubt able to feel the lack of emotional energy rising from Baekhyun. Baekhyun meets his gaze, ignoring the taste of bile on his tongue and the rolling of his stomach.

“So it would seem,” he agrees, nonchalant in demeanor. His eyes flick towards Yerim’s corpse, and the demon breaks out into that cackle again.

“Delicious,” he sing-songs, tilting his head at the former Watcher. Baekhyun strangles his snarl in his throat, but the demon’s sharp ears pick up on it anyway. He smirks. “Ah, but, you _humans_ see this as, hmm.” He taps his bottom lip. “A tragedy, isn’t that right?” Baekhyun’s eyes narrow.

“Oh, you’re angry,” the demon says, sounding delighted. Baekhyun bets he is positively amused. The demon smiles, his long fangs curled over pointed bottom teeth. “Just _livid._ ” 

Baekhyun, however, is not amused at all. He’s torn, half of him amazed by the demon’s power and wants it for himself. The other half of him is terrified and sickened. 

“Did you love her?” The demon asks. He steps forward, less than a meter separating his bare chest from Baekhyun’s jacket. Baekhyun feels frozen, the weight of the demon’s power, of the way the hellfire fluxuates to his breathing, holding him still. Baekhyun keeps staring blankly. 

“No?” The demon muses, raising an eyebrow. He shrugs then. “So don’t worry so much,” he says, and swipes a finger through the blood splattered on his chest to draw the red on his lips. Baekhyun watches his long tail flick curiously at Baekhyun’s blank disposition.

_The length of a demon’s tail equals his power, Baekhyun,_ his mentor used to tell him at the beginning of every session for years.

_His tail goes to almost to his ankles!_ Taehyung had excitedly reported when he came home covered in blood and various wounds with a fresh set of demon markings on his right arm. 

_Baekhyun is going to die,_ a nasty voice that sounds oddly human says in his head. 

“She was bound to die,” the demon’s voice snaps Baekhyun from his thoughts. “Who knows how fate determines these things, anyway?” Baekhyun breathes out harshly.

“You’re oddly calm,” the demon notes. “Quite...quiet, as well.” He grins then, mouth open as he fangs drop to their full length, pressing into his bottom lips. Baekhyun’s own jaw aches. The demon claps his hands together, leaning in so Baekhyun can almost feel the demon against him. He’s so tall, his body lithe, veins stark against his almost white skin.

“Are you going to try to tame me, Little Watcher?” The demon asks, positively delighted. He laughs out loud. “Come on. You?” He laughs again, but Baekhyun doesn’t want to tame a demon like this- a demon with this amount of power. He doesn’t want to let that kind of blood into his system.

He’s _human._

The demon’s eyes flash dark red, and his own blood drips from one of his fangs down the side of his chin. Baekhyun blinks, and his back slams hard into the brick behind him, the demon laughing joyously with one hand pinning one of Baekhyun’s wrists to the harsh surface of the alley’s walls. Baekhyun coughs violently, pain momentarily twisting his features. 

“I dare you to try,” the demon coos, lips against the shell of Baekhyun’s ear. His taunt brings anger flaring to the surface of Baekhyun’s skin, and he snaps his leg up as hard and fast as he can, pulling hard on the demon’s grip on his wrist for leverage. His shin smashes into the demon’s hard shoulder, and throws the Hell resident just enough for Baekhyun to slip, crashing to the ground and rolling hard away from the demon. He jumps to his feet, hands folded into fists and held protectively in front of him. 

The demon cackles again. 

“That was good,” he says. He adds, with condescension dripping from his echoing voice, “Little Watcher.” Baekhyun breathes hard, tasting the miasma on his tongue and something else, something a little sweet, something he almost likes.

“I don’t want to tame you,” Baekhyun snarls. “I want you dead.” The demon prince laughs again, and Baekhyun only manages to catch the glint of hellfire light off of his fangs before his back hits the opposite side of alley, the demon’s arm across his throat. It’s hard but not impossible to breathe, and Baekhyun sucks in what air he can, refusing to show his struggle and give the demon the satisfaction. He knows he’s being toyed with.

“You do?” The demon mocks. “Good.” He leans in close, his breath ghosting over Baekhyun’s jaw, and a shiver of something Baekhyun cannot, will not, acknowledge trails past the pain in his shoulders and down his spine. “But the thing is, you can’t kill me. Couldn’t even tame me. Not a little Watcher like you.” Baekhyun’s claws erupt from his fingertips, and he slashes hard across the demon’s neck, the demon’s blood hot on his fingertips. The demon stumbles back with shock at the sudden attack, and Baekhyun is careful to retract his claws before he holds out his blood stained hand.

One drop slides from his little finger to splash on the heat-burned ground. _”Leave.”_

The ground shimmers, but no gate opens. Baekhyun stares at the demon, stares hard at the awful twist of his lips. _”Return!”_ He tries again. The demon’s physical image doesn’t even shimmer. The wounds across his neck, dripping blood that pools in the hollow of his throat, slowly stitch back together in the hellfire light. Baekhyun blinks, chokes, feels icy hands of fear close around his heart even as heat burns the back of his neck, and Baekhyun really can’t breathe. He’s alone, no chance of being saved with a demon whose power is out of his reach, whose power shatters the air and commands the flames and madness itself, and Baekhyun is surely lost.

Panic tastes like poison and metal on his tongue.

“That’s not going to work,” the demon says casually. He scratches at his newly healed skin. “You’ve realized already, haven’t you?” He straightens to his full height, tail lashing behind him. “I’m a demon prince.” The fire flares around them, the flames nearly white and giving the demon an ethereal glow. Baekhyun takes a step back.

“Isn’t it a fun game?” the demon prince asks, blinking hugely. “You’re clearly not like this one.” He kicks at Yerim’s corpse, and it rolls with an awful squelch right into the hellfire. The stench of burning flesh assaults Baekhyun’s nose. “A little more resilient. Much more fun to play with.”

He steps forward, winding a hand in Baekhyun’s hair and yanking his head harshly to the side.

“But I’m curious,” he whispers, voice rough. “How did you manage to get your knife out that fast?” The demon’s fingers are light, his touch razor sharp as he trails his fingers along Baekhyun’s thighs and up his sides, finding no holsters. He yanks a little hard on Baekhyun’s hair when the Watcher tries to struggle. Baekhyun, chest moving with his frantic breathing, lets the demon stroke over one of his fingers and up the inside of his wrist, shoving his hand nearly up to Baekhyun’s elbow within his jacket. “No weapon,” he breathes. “So it must be...” He drags his hands back down, the tips of his claws just barely digging into Baekhyun’s skin, little droplets of blood beading up in the welts. He stops with his hand wrapped around Baekhyun’s own, drawing back to that they’re staring each other in the eye.

Time seems to freeze.

_“Something else.”_ One claw sinks, vicious, into Baekhyun’s palm. Baekhyun lets go.

His body reacts before he can stop it, his claws out and digging hard into the demon’s hand as he screams, mouth open and fangs fully extended in his mouth. He shoves hard at the prince’s chest, and the demon is thrown back. The markings on Baekhyun’s back stop burning, and the demon’s own seem to glow.

“I see,” the demon says, and suddenly he’s not laughing anymore even if his smirk is just as wicked. “You, Little Watcher, are certainly one of _us._ ” 

“Human,” Baekhyun spits back.

“Halfling,” the demon returns. “And powerful. I could almost swear I’ve met you before.” He steps forward slowly, carefully, lightly, ready to turn at a moment’s notice. Baekhyun balances on the balls of his own feet, barely breathing, fangs showing, waiting.

The demon dives, and Baekhyun steps inside of the attack, swinging his fist up hard. The demon snags his elbow, driving his knee hard into Baekhyun’s hip, forcing him to turn away from his opponent. Baekhyun throws his body forward to roll away; the demon secures his arms around Baekhyun’s middle, crushing him back against his chest.

Something wet and hot trails up the edge of Baekhyun’s ear, and a gasp of pleasure escapes him before he can clamp down on it. 

“Oh, was that...pleasure, Little Watcher? Definitely one of us then,” the demon sighs into Baekhyun’s ear. Baekhyun forces his body to stay rigid, never once letting up the tension against the demon’s arms, never letting him win. “Why else would you find this”--his arms try to tighten around Baekhyun, and the Watcher growls low in the back of his throat--”so desirable.”

He twists Baekhyun in his arms and catches Baekhyun’s chin between his thumb and forefinger. He kisses him hard, their fangs clicking against each other. Baekhyun can’t find reason for it, but he kisses back, scratching up the demon’s arms and sliding his claws into the demon’s hair, the long strands twisted around his fingers. 

The demon licks into Baekhyun’s mouth, and it feels less like a kiss and more like the underworldly creature is trying to _taste_ him. Baekhyun finds himself melting into it anyway, body singing with the contact of another body against his own. The demon sucks Baekhyun’s tongue into his mouth and bites down sharply on his tongue.

Baekhyun yelps trying to draw back, but the demon has his claws buried in Baekhyun’s hair, sharp against his scalp as Baekhyun’s blood smears across their lips. Baekhyun digs his own claws into the demon’s skull as they stand, panting harshly, open-mouthed, fangs against fangs. The demon’s breathing turns harsh, pained, as Baekhyun drags his claws against the demon’s scalp, and their eyes meet.

The demon throws him back, and Baekhyun stumbles, landing hard on his back. He throws his legs up, rolling over his shoulder and jumping up to stand. He wipes angrily at his mouth, tasting his own blood and what can only be Yerim’s blood. He likes the taste- it’s sweet like ice cream, and Baekhyun wants to throw up again.

“I know why you seem familiar,” the demon says suddenly, gruffly, snapping Baekhyun’s focus from his apparent taste for blood. “Tell me your name.” Baekhyun shakes his head angrily.

“It won’t matter when you’re dead if you knew my name or not, demon” he spits. A bit of blood trails down his chin, mirroring the blood on the demon’s chin, and Baekhyun doesn’t feel human at all. _Human,_ he chants weakly in his head to remind himself.

The demon laughs. “My name is Sehun,” he murmurs, and power rings in his voice at the utterance of his name. “Now tell me yours.” Baekhyun stays silent, showing his bloodstained claws when Sehun steps forward toward him with threat written in the angles of his face.

“Tell me,” he repeats. Baekhyun can feel blood slipping down his hip.

“Baekhyun,” he coughs out. The demon blinks.

“Ah,” he says. “I see.” 

Baekhyun, for all of his usual control, can’t stop himself. “See what?” he demands. Sehun glides right up to Baekhyun, moving nearly to fast for Baekhyun to follow, and he traces Baekhyun’s jaw.

“Exactly why you’re so-” he pauses, swipes his thumb through the blood on Baekhyun’s chin and brings it to his own lips, licking the red away. “Addictive.” Baekhyun draws back a fist, and Sehun’s knee slams into Baekhyun’s stomach. 

“Fu-” Baekhyun gasps, falling forward. The demon catches him, fingers curled in the collar of Baekhyun’s jacket, his knees just barely scraping the ground.

“I’m going to offer you an ultimatum,” Sehun breathes, his voice echoing right next to Baekhyun’s ear. “I feel you deserve it, since you are...who you are.”

A halfling, he means. “Fuck. Off,” Baekhyun manages even though the collar of his shirt is pressing against his windpipe. 

“Come back down to Hell with me,” the demon suggests. “Be _mine._ ” Baekhyun hates how tempting that sounds. He knows a little about the organization of Hell from what the First Tamer has told him, but he also knows going to Hell will be the death of his human side.

“And the other option?” Baekhyun demands. 

“Well, you can _attempt_ to tame me,” Sehun says. “And die here, of course. I always do enjoy a good game. Your choice.” He drops Baekhyun then, and the Watcher collapses to the ground, his claws clicking on the asphalt. His knees sting, the fire around him feeling like it will sear right through his jacket. 

“What do you think, _Baekhyun_?” His name, echoing like that, feels right, and Baekhyun’s stomach turns.

“I think it’s you who will die here,” he says even though he doesn’t have the power to kill the demon, and Sehun knows it. His only chance of survival is to complete a taming on him, but taming Sehun- a demon prince- he doesn’t know how his halfling blood will react.

At this point, he has nothing to lose.

“Your eyes look sharp,” Sehun sing-songs. His tail lashes out behind him, one foot shifted back to give him a wider base. Baekhyun pushes himself up to his feet. His eyes lock on the tattoos spinning down Sehun’s left arm from his chest. He knows how taming works; he’s trained for years to be able to do this. His tutor would be upset if he didn’t even try. He doesn’t justify Sehun with an answer.

Baekhyun launches forward, the rush of flames roaring in his ears. Sehun shifts left, and Baekhyun tilts forward. He digs his hands into the asphalt and swings his right leg down hard, knee smashing hard into the inside of Sehun’s hip. The demon’s balance wavers. Baekhyun drops his shoulder to the ground, rolling over the burning marks on his back and digs the heel of his left foot into Sehun’s stomach. 

The demon’s claws pierce through the material of Baekhyun’s boot as he grabs the watcher’s ankles, and Baekhyun gets his eyes open just before he’s dragged across the ground, his ear torn against the rough street. He grabs the back of Sehun’s knee, sinking his claws into his hamstrings. 

Sehun screeches and lets Baekhyun go. Baekhyun ignores the pain, and jumps up again, attempting to swing an uppercut into Sehun’s jaw, but his equilibrium is thrown from the damage to his ear, and he misses wildly, fist smashing into Sehun’s shoulder instead. The demon snags his wrist. Sehun pulls, claws showing, intending to drag Baekhyun right into the black curve of his nails. Baekhyun drops his weight completely, hitting the ground hard. Sehun over balances, falling forward. 

Baekhyun’s stomach complains as he throws his legs up, digging his boots into Sehun’s stomach and throwing the demon over his head. He doesn’t see Sehun smash into the brick behind them, but he rolls over in his stomach in time to scramble over to the demon, slashing his nails down his arms, from deltoid to wrist. 

Sehun roars, and the fire around them explodes, slamming into Baekhyun. Baekhyun backpedals, dive rolling away from the flames. Heavy hands lands on his back, and Baekhyun nearly bites off his tongue as he hits the ground chin and chest first.

“You piece of shit,” Sehun hisses at him, his claws sinking through Baekhyun’s jacket. The tips meet the markings on Baekhyun’s back, and Baekhyun screams, thrashing as hard as he can to throw the demon. It doesn’t work, but it does give him enough room to twist his back hard, throwing his elbow into Sehun’s jaw. The demon slides sideways, and Baekhyun throws himself after him.

Sehun lands hard on his back, and Baekhyun is there, shins over the demon’s thighs and leaning down so they’re chest to chest. Sehun claws at the skin over Baekhyun’s hips. Baekhyun screams, grabbing onto Sehun’s wrist and smashing his hand down hard into the ground. There’s a sickening crack of bone. Sehun screams in response. The flames are white around them. 

Baekhyun can feel the tears streaming down his face to mix with the blood smeared along his jaw, and he presses down harder on Sehun’s legs and arm as he brings his own right hand to his mouth and bites hard into his palm, blood spilling hot on his tongue. 

Baekhyun grabs Sehun’s other hand, the marked one, tearing it from where the demon lodged into his side. Bits of his own flesh are caught in Sehun’s claws, and Baekhyun jams his own into Sehun’s palm. Their blood mingles, sinking into each other’s skin as Baekhyun catches Sehun completely, his full body weight holding the demon down.

_”Open!”_ He screams. The screeching of iron gates rings in the air, and the ground under them splits into Hell’s gates. Sehun roars.

“No!” The echo glancing off the iron gates. 

_”Open!”_ Baekhyun repeats forcefully, and the metal bars slide away. Hell’s miasma surround them both, and the flames on the street are bright yellow and white.

“You- no!” Sehun tries.

_”Exchange!”_ Baekhyun roars. Everything stops, and then their hearts beat once in tandem, pounding in Baekhyun’s ears. Sehun’s markings light up bright, blue searing down his skin, and the mess of blood between their hands glows.

Pain tears through Baekhyun’s body, starting in his back, and he collapses, the sounds of his own screams foreign to his ears. His right arm burns as if acid were poured down his arm and flames were licking their way up. Sehun is screaming against him, and the world looks blue.

The flames are blue.

The markings on Sehun’s arm come to life, snaking up Baekhyun’s own, the designs like knifes digging scars into Beakhyun’s flesh. Sehun arches up, tears streaked on his own face. Baekhyun’s vision is fading out, his breath too hard to catch.

“Leave,” he tries to tell Sehun, to finish the ritual. Nothing happens, and Sehun is begging him now, his screams becoming pleas for it all to stop. Baekhyun wants it all to stop; he can’t breathe.

_”Leave!”_ He sobs in gruesome desperation. It all stops: the pain, the hellfire, the swirling gates and rising miasma. Night Hunt is over. Baekhyun meets Sehun’s eyes one last time as the demon sinks into the gate, and Baekhyun lies prone in the alleyway.

The world goes black.

***

Baekhyun wakes to sunlight against his face, turning the backs of his eyelids orange and too hot against his face. He's uncomfortable; his body screaming at him with the voice of cracked ribs and torn skin. He flexes his fingers, and no accompanying jolts of pain lance up either arm. He's lucky--no broken fingers. His fingertips however, feel sore, rubbing against the asphalt he's laying on, the grit of the street slippery like after the rain.

It never rains on Night Hunt. There is only one remaining explanation for the liquid under Baekhyun's touch: blood. Whether it's his blood or Sehun's blood Baekhyun can't be sure. They'd both been heavily torn open when he'd finally finished the blood exchange.

Baekhyun opens his eyes and squeezes them shut again, pressing his hands hard against the ground to distract himself from the harsh sting of early morning sunlight reflected off of glass buildings. Baekhyun groans, forcing himself to breathe slowly in through his nose and evenly out through his mouth, to not let pain consume him. He dryly makes a mental note to never again spend the night passed out in a puddle of blood in an alleyway in Seoul--or any city, for that matter.

"Well, this isn't exactly the victory I expected to find," a voice cuts into Baekhyun's head with the ring of a demon, but it's a voice Baekhyun has never heard before. "Still, a victory none the less, if the ruckus in Hell last night is anything to judge from."

Baekhyun opens his mouth to ask for the name of the demon or for the voice to simply leave him alone, but it's nearly impossible to articulate any of those when his mouth is as dry as it is. He croaks.

"Alright, I’ll take that as a request for assistance then, Tamer," the voice continues. Hands, gentle hands, holding Baekhyun carefully, not all treating him like the halfling creature he is, slide under his shoulders, pulling him up into a sitting position. Those same hands brush over Baekhyun's eyes, wiping away whatever dust and grime and blood--his or Sehun's--is there. "Open your eyes slowly, alright? The sun isn't the most forgiving of rulers." Baekhyun wants to snap, to tell this demon that he can take perfect care of himself, he doesn't need a demon's help, but he finds himself blinking repeatedly against the sunlight anyway as he works to get his eyes open.

When he does, the smile that greets him is even more blinding than the sun itself, and Baekhyun jolts back, biting his lip to hide his wince as the sharp action aggravates his injuries. He can feel fresh blood, hot and anguished, flowing down his side again from where Sehun has dug his claws into Baekhyun's waist. 

The demon reaches out for him immediately, holding him still. "Careful," he says, voice stern. "Don't move so suddenly. You'll heal quickly with the little prince's blood in you, but it's only been a few hours since he tried to rip you open. Even I can't heal that quickly."

"And who is 'I,'" Baekhyun whispers, not really asking, not really expecting an answer. His throat is still terribly dry, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth.

"Are you actually asking?" The demon teases, shifting around Baekhyun to loop his hands under Baekhyun's arms. "Or are you just being difficult, and I should expect your questions to be rhetorical?" He pauses in his maneuvering of Baekhyun's battered body when Baekhyun lets out of a small pained whine. "Not entirely stoic, I see." It sounds like he's smiling, and Baekhyun finds it strange. "You need to carry some of your weight. I won’t do all of that for you. Put your feet on the ground, bend your knees, like that, yeah." 

Baekhyun does his best to follow instructions, his abdomen screaming at him as he pulls his feet in. As soon as he gets the soles of his boots on the ground, the demon lifts, and Baekhyun is pulled easily right up to his feet. He wobbles, vertigo crashing into him. For a brief moment, he thinks his face is going to greet the ground and his other ear will be torn clean through to match his left, but the demon is already holding him still, keeping him upright with careful hands.

"You lost a lot of blood," the demon notes. Baekhyun shifts his eyes to the side to simply stare at the demon. He's powerful-- being out in plain daylight without a Tamer in sight is indication enough of that.

"Now, did you really want to know who I am? Or should I just get you back to your hotel?"

Baekhyun nods, not trusting his voice to work quite yet..

"Demon Prince Jongdae at your service," the demon laughs, tipping an imaginary hat. "You've probably never heard of me. I'm not one of your First Tamer's demons, after all." He grins, and Baekhyun doesn't really make any effort to reply. Jongdae doesn't seem shocked by this at all, wrapping his tail snugly around Baekhyun's waist as added support as he starts walking forward. Baekhyun doesn't have any way to explain it, but he feels an odd sense of comfort in the presence of this demon prince.

He wonders if taming a demon prince last night has anything to do with it. He doubts it.

"Tamed our little prince Sehun, I see," the demon says conversationally as they step out of the alley, turning right down the street. They must look an interesting pair--Baekhyun covered in blood and a demon grinning full force with his fangs out stumbling down the sidewalk together. "Quite a fit. Second strongest demon in hell currently, that little brat. He thinks he's the strongest, but he's got a few centuries to grow before then, I should say."

The demon leads Baekhyun around to the back of the building, waiting patiently and chatting amicably as Baekhyun fishes his key card out of one of his torn pockets. His fingers slip on the plastic, the white now streaked over with the orange rust of dried carnage. Jongdae grabs the little card from him easily, swiping it and jabbing at the automatic door. It swings open, and Baekhyun hisses at the sudden rush of freezing air conditioning.

Jongdae hisses too. "This atmosphere is hardly fit for a demon prince," he says, glancing at Baekhyun pointedly. "We live in a fiery atmosphere for a reason. This is torturous."

Baekhyun agrees, licking at his lips, body finally starting to function again. It is always a struggle to realign his human side after a Night Hunt, the demon in him having crawled to close to control just hours before. His body hums with the memory of his fight with Sehun, and he grips Jongdae's wrist tightly as he helps him into the elevator.

"Why are you here?" Baekhyun asks him finally, trying to keep his voice even despite the rasp in his throat and the general feeling of being off kilter more than usual. 

“I was made to come," Jongdae answers him. “A request of sorts.” Baekhyun doesn't know how to interpret that, not sure who the someone is or how a demon prince can even be on the earth plane without his Tamer drawing him up.

"Are you tamed?" Baekhyun asks. The elevator dings to announce their arrival on Baekhyun's floor; Jongdae doesn't answer.

"How are you here?" Baekhyun tries again, nearly tripping over his own feet.

"Shower," the demon orders, stopping in front of Baekhyun's room. "It will help your wounds. Remember something else, Baekhyun, about the blood exchange." Baekhyun suddenly finds himself face to face with this demon prince, and even though they're about the same size, Baekhyun feels terribly small under the prince's stare. "Just like a blood transfusion performed by your doctors, your body has to accept the new blood flowing in you. Don't fight it. Do as it commands, and you will be fine."

"That's cryptic," Baekhyun states, but he allows Jongdae to open his door and push him inside.

"Later, kid," Jongdae says, and a gate immediately opens under his feet, taking him away. Baekhyun glares at the spot where he used to be for a second before pain slams into him, nearly knocking him to the ground. Baekhyun grabs for the wall, breathing hard. He hadn't really thought about it while he'd been walking, but he hadn't felt any pain with the demon prince. Now, his fingertips sliding against the wallpaper as he fights to stay upright, it feels as if Sehun's claws are still buried in his flesh; the agony of the blood exchange is still coursing through his veins.

Baekhyun sighs, stumbling into the hotel room bathroom, gritting his teeth the whole time he pulls off his clothes to give himself something other than pain to focus on. Now that he can look at the full damage in the mirror, see the amount of blood dried on his clothing and plastered on his skin, and Baekhyun hopes his staying away from any doctors won’t cause him irreparable damage. His healing rate is incredible, yes, but he's not above needing stitches every so often. 

Staggering the last two steps to the shower, Baekhyun braces himself on the toilet, cranking the shower handle for hot water. He breathes hard through his nose, stomach muscles clenched against the pain wracking through him. While sleeping on the streets wasn't his best choice, albeit one his consciousness did not give him the chance to make, not giving his body time to recover after a Night Hunt, especially one like last night, was by far a worse decision. Possibly the worst, considering he can feel the heavy weight of Sehun’s blood in his veins, unsettled against his own. The burn of the markings now seared into his skin, an exact reflection of Sehun’s own as a result of the blood exchange, sends jolts of pain up the back of his neck that pound in his torn ear.

Baekhyun glances at a particularly deep gash on his stomach, now scabbed over and oozing just a trickle of blood down his side. That wound probably should have received immediate medical attention, but he hadn't much choice to go to the emergency room with the unexpected appearance of the demon Jongdae, something which still spins curiously in his mind. 

A demon willing to help someone who is not his Tamer is rare enough, but an untamed demon coming up to earth by his own volition simply to assist someone--half-demon or not--is strictly unheard of. Until today, Baekhyun hadn't even known that a demon could come to Earth without a Night Hunt where the veil between the two words is naught but lace ready to be shredded.

Hot water plasters Baekhyun's hair to his cheeks. He peers through the black strands at the demon markings now laced up his arm, the dark ink coloring his skin with the patterns of the wind and hellfire, black cherry blossoms and death.

It's startlingly beautiful and exquisitely detailed, the elaborate design becoming even more extravagant as the water clears the dirt and blood from his skin, as the water runs pink down the tiles to swirl at the drain. He hisses at the sting of the water in the claw marks in his side, but he watches in fascination the rate at which his now clean wounds heal. The skin stitches together easily, clear and unblemished. There's a pink flush for only a moment before that too fades as if nothing had been there in the first place. 

The only explanation, of course, is Sehun's blood, now coursing through Baekhyun’s body with his own. He remembers the rate at which his claw marks down the side of Sehun's neck had closed, the skin knitting together before his eyes. He wonders if immortality is now running through him the way it fills the demon race. However, immortality or not, Baekhyun was born of a nameless human woman--one he’s never met and is a mystery to him still--and the possibility that his human side wouldn’t survive beyond the planes of earth, torn apart and rejected by his demon half, is high.

In fact, being on the earth plane is the only reason his demon blood hasn't taken him over already. Without the miasma of hell, the main source of life for the demon race, his human side is able to keep in control, able to maintain power over his demon instincts. It's why Night Hunt is so devastating for his body--it's the only time he truly can breathe in the deep red of the miasma and feel the power that Taehyung swears he feels every time he so much as sees Baekhyun.

Baekhyun turns and twists the shower off, drying methodically, careful to let any open wounds finish stitching themselves closed before he towels the water away. The hotel already knows he's a watcher--now a Tamer--but they don't need to see the proof of his work in the form of red stains on their towels. 

A twinge of pain burns on Baekhyun's back right shoulder as he pulls his pants on. He manages to straighten up in annoyance, thinking he's pulled a muscle or something, before true pain slams into him, the black markings on his arm flickering along his skin like black fire, the edges lined with red as the heat rises. Baekhyun presses a hand over his mouth to stop himself screaming.

What was it that the Demon Prince Jongdae had said to him? Baekhyun remembers his training. The blood exchange is powerful, and demons are usually left out for hours directly after a taming to allow the bond between the Tamer and demon to settle. Baekhyun hadn't even given himself that option, completing the ritual by sending Sehun back to Hell. He'd done the taming to save his own life rather than for the purpose of actually owning a demon, and the results of his actions are now coursing through him with pain and fire.

The screams of Night Hunt echo in his ears as the bitter ashen taste of hellfire fills his mouth. His nails lengthen, the black tips begging to bite into soft flesh. Baekhyun does not have any desire to slice into the skin of his own hand and bring his demon out, to settle the bond he created between them, but the pain is telling him only one thing.

He doesn’t have a choice.

Baekhyun clenches a fist, and his nails cut easily into his hand, blood dribbling down his arm even as the wounds begin to stitch themselves closed.

" _Op_ \--fuck," Baekhyun coughs. Pain wracks through him harder, and he knows instinctively that it's Sehun fighting against the bond of the blood exchange as Baekhyun fights to open it. He forces himself into a kneeling position, and holds his torn hand out over the carpet.

_"Open,"_ Baekhyun demands. Drops of blood fall into a swirling hell gate, the edges of it brushing Baekhyun's knees. He takes a deep breath and lets more blood fall. _"Come, Prince Sehun!_ "

The screeching of iron gates crashes into Baekhyun's ears, vibrating through his body as the bars, the spiders and snakes decorating it glaring at him with their marble eyes, make their appearance through the miasma.

"Open," Baekhyun says again. "And come."

The gates scream as they open, and rising from them, tall, imposing, just as beautiful as he had been bathed in Yerim's blood, is the demon prince Baekhyun can now call his own.

"I have come, master," the demon prince drawls, his voice sarcastic and dry. He’s absent of the blood and massacre from the night before, standing with a sneer down at the Baekhyun in clean trousers, his chest bare and exposed. Even as he looks imperiously down at Baekhyun’s kneeling form, lips curled in a sneer, Baekhyun can see from his vantage point that Sehun speaks through gritted teeth. The black markings on the prince's arm are tinged with red, just as Baekhyun's are.

The pain has only barely lessened, and though there is no physical show of fighting, Baekhyun can _feel_ Sehun pulling on his blood, trying to get free of it. He's a proud demon prince, the aura from him telling Baekhyun that as much as his blood, but Baekhyun himself is just as proud, the only known halfling with a position to lose. A position and his life, which is damn well worth fighting for. He's not going to let go of his chance of survival so easily by allowing Sehun's pulling on their unsettled bond to kill him.

After all, if the Tamer dies and the demon goes free. The demon dies, and both are lost to the world. There is one more test after Baekhyun returns to the Gatewatchers Headquarters: the First Tamer's acceptance of his taming. He'd been sent to Seoul to complete a taming, and now he's made one he's certain he will be handed the crest that will sit on the left side of his standard-issue coat.

The only requirement is that Baekhyun makes it back home alive.

"Good," Baekhyun says shortly, keeping sharp gasps for breath out of his voice. "You came."

"You called," Sehun drawls at him. "What did you want me for? To help you off the floor, halfling?"

"Baekhyun," Baekhyun corrects. "You will call me by my name."

"You don't even know who gave you that name," Sehun sneers. "I will call you what I want." Baekhyun reaches up, grabbing onto Sehun's wrist and twisting his nails into the skin, enough to hurt but not enough to make the demon bleed. Sehun's tattoos pulse red, and a beat later, Baekhyun's echo the color. He sucks in breath between his teeth.

"You will call me Baekhyun, Sehun," Baekhyun commands, using Sehun's arm for support to pull himself to stand. Sehun is much taller than Baekhyun, but the pain flashing on the demon's face gives Baekhyun courage enough to lean forward. "I'm the Tamer-- _your_ Tamer. Your _master._ Not you." Sehun snarls at him, and Baekhyun's shoulder where Sehun's claws had dug in deep during the final moments of the blood exchange ritual, tapping against bone, burns intensely.

"I am a prince," Sehun spits.

"You are _tamed_ ," Baekhyun retorts. “By me.” He lets go of Sehun's wrist and slams his palms against the demon's chest. Sehun tumbles back, falling onto the hotel bed. The markings on his arm flash faster, brighter, Baekhyun’s own mimicking their behavior as the burn sinks into his flesh. Baekhyun jolts forward, something in him, all of the places Sehun had impaled with black claws to meet flesh and bone, burns as he clambers over Sehun, holding him down, forcing him to submit.

"What are you doing?" Sehun demands. He bucks his hips, trying to throw Baekhyun off, but Baekhyun presses a hand against Sehun's throat. "The blood exchange is already complete, you idiot. Let me--"

" _Stop,_ " Baekhyun orders, and his voice comes out with a slight ring, the echo that demons are known for. "I know you're in pain just like I am. Stop it."

"You must have done the exchange wrong," Sehun wheezes. He tries to grab for Baekhyun, but Baekhyun snatches his marked hand with his own, pressing it down against the mattress. Sehun growls up at him.

"I did not," Baekhyun says. "You didn't give in to the taming."

"Did you expect me to?" Sehun scoffs. "A tamed prince is a powerless prince. If you own me, then who owns my court? You?" He narrows his eyes. "My demons are mine."

"Keep them," Baekhyun allows easily. What need does he have for a legion of demons at his command? He only needs a demon, and Sehun just so happened to make himself the only choice. "But you? You are mine." He doesn't know what causes it, what inspires him to lean down and scrape the tip of one of his fangs across Sehun's bottom lip, to kiss him harshly, but the blood exchange starts to sing in him the moment he does. Sehun pushes back.

Baekhyun lets go of Sehun's wrist, grabbing for his other hand just before Sehun’s clawed fingers connect with his face. It’s odd to kiss someone for whom Baekhyun feels no affection, but his body reacts all the same, the blood exchange roaring in his ears.

Baekhyun breaks off the kiss, staring down at Sehun, at the deep black of his eyes, at his fangs just barely poking from his gums. The circle of red around his pupils is dim, and Baekhyun thinks his own eyes might be blown wide with whatever is tugging on him--this superficial lust forged by the unsettled blood exchange. 

His moment of hesitation is enough for Sehun to wrench his legs free, and he throws his body weight to the side. Baekhyun shouts as he is rolled onto his back, Sehun’s knees pressing painfully into Baekhyun’s hips, pinning him flat on the mattress.

“Let me go,” Baekhyun growls, tone threatening. Sehun only presses down harder, leaning in to brush his nose along Baekhyun’s collarbones.

“It’s the strangest thing,” he starts. The tips of his claws are warnings held against the delicate skin of the undersides of Baekhyun’s forearms. “But something in me is telling me I want you.”

“You don’t want me,” Baekhyun manages around the slight zing of pleasure rolling down his spin as Sehun’s teeth scrape lightly over his neck. “You just want to be rid of the blood exchange.”

“I could kill you,” Sehun hisses. Baekhyun meets his insolent gaze for just a second before he yanks his arms free of Sehun’s grip, getting one arm locked around the back of Sehun’s neck, the heel of his palm pressed against his windpipe.

“That worked out so well for you last time, didn’t it?” Baekhyun snaps, and he can hear sarcasm and nervous energy in his voice. He feels so free around Sehun even as they struggle to hold each other down, to tear through each others’ skin. 

_Human,_ he reminds himself.

“A lack of judgement on my part,” Sehun chokes out. Around the wheeze in his voice, he almost sound flippant. Something hot like anger boils in Baekhyun’s stomach, but that’s not the only thing coursing through him. “I didn’t think a halfling would survive Night Hunt.”

“I’ve done it for years,” Baekhyun seethes. “Just because you showed up doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to fall apart at the seams.”

Sehun twists, and Baekhyun lets him fall from his chokehold. He throws a leg over Sehun’s stomach, holding one hand, claws out, over Sehun’s heart. Sehun freezes, regarding Baekhyun’s threat calmly. A flesh wound won’t hurt him, scratches and cuts are hardly concerns for himself either, but having his heart torn out won’t leave way for recovery.

Even if Baekhyun would die should he choose to kill his own demon, he’s betting on Sehun wanting to keep his life too much to actually simply allow Baekhyun to kill them both.

Sehun doesn’t move. “What a gamble,” he breathes, mocking. “Curious, though, that you’ve survived without ‘ripping apart at the seams.’” He lifts on hand and picks idly at his cuticle with the tip of one hooked claw. “Night Hunt is when the fabric between our worlds is torn away. Isn’t it odd that when it ends your body doesn’t tear itself into halves? That half of you isn’t drawn down to Hell with the rest of us?”

Baekhyun stills. He hadn’t thought of that.

“The way I see it,” Sehun continues, and he’s leaning up now, chest against the tips of Baekhyun’s claws. “You’re more demon than you are human. Only a strong demon can resist the call of Hell’s miasma.”

“More human,” Baekhyun asserts. “More power, and able to maintain control so that the demon side doesn’t feel this pull you speak of.”

Sehun barks out a laugh. “I don’t believe that,” he says. His voice is low, a whisper that caresses Baekhyun’s ears, that sends something like want and something like incompletion raging through his body. “If you were more human, why would you react so violently to our presence? We’re not the friendliest of creatures. You feel as if your court has been infiltrated.” He smirks and settles a hand on Baekhyun’s knee, fingers drumming along the inside curve of it. “If you were more human, you wouldn’t have to fight to appear human. It’s obvious in the way you move, in the way you keep your lips over your teeth when you talk that you don’t want to show just how _demon_ you are.”

Sehun leans in close, and Baekhyun is mesmerized by the red of his eyes, by the awful hotel lighting reflected in his silver hair. “If you were more human, you would find this disgusting.” Baekhyun’s hand falls flat against Sehun’s chest, and he crashes into him, meeting his kiss halfway. It’s like fighting, Sehun slipping his fingers under Baekhyun’s thigh to pull him in closer, grinding against him. Baekhyun presses back, sliding a hand down Sehun’s back, feeling the heat of the markings on Sehun’s arm against his skin, feeling hellfire racing through his own veins. 

He exhales against Sehun’s chin, forcing Sehun down onto his back, rolling his hips as he lifts himself over him. 

“Do you feel this?” Sehun asks. He leans up, dragging his tongue down Baekhyun’s neck. His hands are warm, nearly too hot, against Baekhyun’s hips. Baekhyun’s left shoulder aches. “How easy it is to be next to me, little Tamer?” 

“Shut up,” Baekhyun almost snarls, twisting his fingers in Sehun’s hair as the demon nips at his collarbone.

“You could have made this so easy,” Sehun continues, mouthing along Baekhyun’s chest, licking over his nipples. He bites on one, and Baekhyun bucks his hips forward. Lust and need--he can feel them both acutely now. “I made you an offer, didn’t I?”

Baekhyun yanks on Sehun’s hair, forcing his head back. “I’m not yours,” he says. He dives in, sucking hard at Sehun’s pulse. Sehun gasps, trying to roll, to press Baekhyun down underneath him. Baekhyun steels himself and refuses to be moved.

“You could have been mine,” Sehun continues. “You should have just been mine. Has no one ever told you that Hell would love you?”

Baekhyun doesn’t answer, but Chanyeol telling him the very same thing dances across his memory. 

“Instead you are mine,” Baekhyun says. He grabs Sehun’s wrists, pressing them down into the pillows over his head. His claws skitter out against Sehun’s skin.

“And yet you wear my marks,” Sehun argues. He leans up, attempting to throw Baekhyun again. Baekhyun leans forward, pressing his body weight more fully onto Sehun. The sharp prick of his claws against the demon’s skin holds the prince still.

“Because I tamed you," Baekhyun asserts. " _That_ is the only reason."

"Yet I wear yours," Sehun remarks. Baekhyun freezes, grip on Sehun's wrists loosening in shock.

"What?" he demands. Sehun pushes up again, and this time, Baekhyun falls back easily, allowing Sehun to turn his back to him. 

There, the wings that Baekhyun has worn his whole life, have been split into two parts. Taehyung has always remarked that Baekhyun's tattoos on his back make them inaccessible to claimings where a full demon has them on one of his arms. Yet, as Baekhyun stares at Sehun's back, he is forced to remember the way Sehun's claws had dug into his shoulder as he screamed for their blood to exchange. He recalls the burning that had taken place there when Sehun tried to fight their connection as Baekhyun called him up from Hell. The right wing of Baekhyun’s mark is now printed on Sehun's skin, stretching over pale flesh and bone. Baekhyun's fingers, moving of their own accord, reach forward, brushing over the crest of the wing.

"If you claim that wearing my marks means I belong to you," Sehun begins. He twists to face Baekhyun again, and his tail lashes behind him as a slow, wicked grin spreads over his pointed fangs. "Then I must own you in the same manner."

Baekhyun growls low in his throat, his muscles tensing as he thinks through the taming. Sehun's nails has scratched deep into Baekhyun's back just over his mark, gouging out his flesh. Baekhyun had ignored the pain and pressed on, holding Sehun down as he called out for the blood exchange ritual to begin. His demon's fingertips, torn and bloody from their fight, had been pressed against the bloody indents on Baekhyun's wounded shoulder. The burning there had been intense, and Baekhyun had screamed and cried along with Sehun. He hadn't realized Sehun had taken Baekhyun's own marks onto his skin.

"Little Tamer," Sehun practically purrs, leaning in close to Baekhyun, trailing his fingers up Baekhyun's side, claws pricking lightly at the skin over Baekhyun's heart. "You can tell me I'm yours all you want, but the truth here is you are meant to be mine." He noses along Baekhyun's jaw, and Baekhyun feels heat stir in the pit of his stomach, instinct begging him to push forward into Sehun’s touch.

He lifts a hand, and triumph flashes through Sehun’s eyes, the angry pull of the blood exchange between them lessening. Baekhyun grabs onto Sehun’s throat, his claws extended against the soft skin of his neck. Sehun’s eyes snap wide open. Baekhyun can feel his demon’s pulse speeding under his touch. His tail wraps tight around Baekhyun’s waist. A tremor runs through them both, fear and anger and the blood exchange at war in their combined blood.

Baekhyun lifts his other hand, palm pressed against Sehun’s sternum and fingers slotted between the intents of his ribs.

“You won’t kill me,” Sehun breathes, tilting his head to the side in a show of nonchalance. His long fingers are tight around Baekhyun’s forearm, keeping him from sliding his claws right through his ribcage to his heart. “Not with how you fought for your life--not with how killing me will kill you.”

The truth of the statement sends apprehension and fear running cold through Baekhyun’s chest. He quirks an eyebrow and the beginning of a smirk decorates his lips despite this.

“Would it?” he asks. Sehun stiffens under his touch.

“Do you think you’re strong enough to survive?” The demon barks out a harsh laugh. “That you are some sort of exception to the laws that have governed the war between our kinds for centuries?”

Baekhyun stares at him, calculating. “Isn’t it you who thinks I am the exception?”

His words are met with silence; Sehun’s eyebrows slant downwards, confusion drawn on the lines of his face. A low growl catches in the back of his throat. Baekhyun’s half-smirk becomes a full blown grin.

“You keep insisting I’m more demon than human,” Baekhyun begins, watching Sehun’s face carefully for his reaction. “Who’s to say my demon half-- _more_ than half--won’t die if I kill you?”

“So you’ll still fall to pieces,” Sehun says, flippant. “You’ll die a slow, drawn-out death.”

Baekhyun tilts his face up, showing his fangs. “Or will I open a portal with your blood stained on my hands?” Baekhyun counters. “Hell’s miasma is a powerful thing. Surely, I will survive there if I am more demon than human as you’ve said.”

“More human, then,” Sehun offers. The blood exchange is roaring angrily between them again, a sharp pull under Baekhyun’s skin as Sehun fights it. Baekhyun licks over the tip of his own fang, a gesture he has seen done during many watches as demons try to intimidate Tamers and Watchers alike. Sehun stares at the flick of his tongue, and Baekhyun latches on to the blood exchange, pulling Sehun back into the connection. 

“You change your tune all too easily at the hint of a threat,” Baekhyun muses. A jolt runs through him; he’s doing the exact same thing to his demon right now, changing his tune to convince the demon prince into settling the bond between them. He doesn't want to think about how much more he acts like Sehun than any of the Watchers or Tamers he knows. The blood exchange picks up a slow, haunting melody.

“You’re not a threat,” Sehun hisses. “Even _if_ you killed me and even _if_ you survived in Hell, no one--not a single court there--will take you in.” His voice is echoing with dissent and anger, but his eyes flick from side to side, his unease clear in the downward slant of his mouth.

“Really?” Baekhyun asks him. Sehun nods after a moment of hesitation, and it’s that uncertainty that gives Baekhyun the incentive to complete his threat.

“What if your death does not equal mine?” Baekhyun asks. “That would leave your court without a prince.” He stares very seriously, allowing his eyes to look as cold and cruel as they are capable of. “I have a friend, of sorts, who tells me I am of royal demon blood. If I were to be torn away from my human side and descended to Hell, as your tamer and now a demon, wouldn’t your court belong to me?”

“Demons are too loyal to their princes,” Sehun argues, but his fangs are out, the end of his tail swishing over Baekhyun’s ribs in agitation. “My court would never allow another demon to simply step in and fill my place.” 

Baekhyun grins. “I carry your blood within me, Prince Sehun,” he says. “Your court is too loyal to reject a prince carrying your blood.” A stab of hatred lights along the blood exchange, an attempt to mask the terror running through Sehun as the very real possibility of loss.

“You cannot take my court from me,” Sehun states, but it sounds more like a plea to Baekhyun’s ears. “You won’t.” The metaphysical struggle between them, the attempt to tear apart the blood exchange, is ceasing.

“I will,” Baekhyun threatens, baring his teeth.

“I could kill you first,” Sehun tries. Baekhyun flexes his hands against Sehun’s throat and heart.

“You won’t be fast enough,” he reminds his demon. “You have only two choices, demon prince.” Baekhyun meets his demon’s glare.

“Submit to the blood exchange, or die.”

The desire to fight, to draw blood, to flee, to protect himself and his court--all of it flashes over Sehun’s face with Baekhyun’s final offer of mercy, but Baekhyun can already feel his demon submitting to his will, to the blood exchange, as thoughts and feelings begin to flow freely between them.

The exchange is stabilizing.

It’s a long moment that passes, both of them holding their breath as hellfire races through them. Sehun’s lips shape the words ‘I submit,’ but Baekhyun hears their echo in his head. Sehun's free hand twists in the sheets, and the shock of the connection screams in the quiet of the hotel room.

Everything is too much, building too fast and too hot under Baekhyun's skin, and the tattoos on his arm are starting to glow a faint blue, flashing with the rate of his pulse. Sehun's are doing the same, flashing on the off-beat from Baekhyun's own. Baekhyun's focus turns to Sehun's palms, and he stares at the light blue flashing over black ink of his arms. 

"Give me your hand," Baekhyun demands.

"Why?" he manages.

"Trust me," Baekhyun asks, and the blue on their arms is pulsing in tandem now as their fingers slide between each other. Music, dark and tinged with the roar of hellfire fills Baekhyun's ears. He keeps driving headfirst into the deepest corners of the blood exchange, and he doesn't even realize that he's clinging on tightly to Sehun, that's he's got his face buried in the demon's neck, his arm wrapped around his shoulders, until he open his mouth and his lips pass over warm skin.

_"Connect!"_

Sehun throws his head back, and Baekhyun's shoulder pricks with warmth. It's nothing like the heat, powerful even if it's not painful, that's racing up and down his arm. Baekhyun can feel the blood exchange slide into place as his and Sehun's hearts align.

_"Connect!"_ Baekhyun calls again, and around them the whole room seems to light up blue. It's powerful, overloading his senses as he can feel both Sehun's and his own ends of the bond, the blood exchange connected firmly between them through their joined hands.

_"Disperse,"_ he pants into the air, and the blood exchange cuts its song. Baekhyun feels like one man again, and Sehun groans. With stiff limbs Baekhyun doesn’t know the ends of anymore, his head still rushing with the sensations of Sehun’s body, Baekhyun releases Sehun, rolling backwards to lie down on the bed. He places a hand against his chest, trying to calm his breathing and pounding heart.

He glances over Sehun and his stricken expression. "You're fine," he says, but he waits for Sehun to respond before he cuts eye contact.

"Don't act like you care," Sehun snarls back. The demon glances over his shoulder at the new markings on his skin and down at the fading glow of his own markings. "Humiliating," he seethes. Baekhyun ignores him.

"The blood exchange should be fully formed now," Baekhyun says, voice matter-of-fact. "You can go back now. There shouldn't be pain from separation anymore."

"Pain is better than being in a blood exchange with you," Sehun sneers.

"It's a bit too late to change that," Baekhyun replies. Sehun whirls, holding his claws up to Baekhyun's neck. Baekhyun simply breathes a sigh of long suffering. They’ve just finished this argument. "You won't kill me."

"Who's to say?" the demon prince demands. "I'm not the tamer in this bond. Your death won't hurt me."

"You have had many opportunities to kill me," Baekhyun argues. "Yet you haven't. Demons are notoriously loyal to their bonds. You won't kill me."

Sehun growls, and the tip of one nail dips too hard into Baekhyun's throat, tearing the skin there.

"I hate you," Sehun spits. Baekhyun meets his glare evenly.

"Go back to Hell and hate me all you want," he says. "But you're still my demon." The markings on their arms flash, and there's a long moment of silence between them. Baekhyun gets up, yanking on his shirt and grabbing a water bottle from the mini fridge.

"I can no longer leave my court," Sehun admits quietly. Baekhyun stares, bottle halfway to his lips.

"What?"

"You know how courts work, don't you?" Sehun asks, and the condescending sneer is back in his tone. Baekhyun does. Courts, each run by demon royalty, are home to legions of demons per prince or princess. Within a court, a demon is safe, bound to the other demons living there through bonds of loyalty.

Each court run by a demon is underneath one of the courts of the very few Hell queens. Hell queens are not known for their mercy-- for sparing their demons who have been tamed.

"If I leave the protection of my court," Sehun continues. "My queens will kill me only to kill you too."

"You're a prince," Baekhyun argues. "You're more valuable alive."

"Not for my queens," Sehun asserts.

"Why does this matter?" Baekhyun asks. "I don't care if you stay in your court or galavant around. I trust you won't do your best to get yourself killed. You're too selfish."

"You are arrogant," Sehun argues. "You don't even care about your people."

"My people are here on Earth," Baekhyun says. Sehun rolls his eyes at him, and Baekhyun bristles.

"Send me home," Sehun demands. "I'm tired of you."

Baekhyun shows his claws immediately, reaching forward to slice into Sehun's neck and drip his blood on the floor. The hell gate open. "When I return home, I will present you to the First Tamer." The gate, iron bars wound with snakes and spiders, rises. "Dress nicely."

"Aren't I at your service?"

Baekhyun coughs pointedly at Sehun's disdain. _"Leave,"_ he commands, and Sehun does, watching Baekhyun with red eyes as he sinks down to his home in Hell. As soon as the gate closes, Baekhyun breathes hard, trying to calm himself, to pull the mask of indifference back on and keep himself from acting out, from showing emotions as he's always done.

It almost doesn't feel like he needs to though, and he hates that the explanation may be that Sehun's blood in his body has stabilized his control over his demon nature.

Something nasty tells him in Sehun's voice that he's always been more demon. Baekhyun bites his lip. He's far more human; he's certain of it.

***

Walking into the Gatewatchers' facilities with a Tamer's jacket and a sort of confidence he hasn't displayed since he first went outside on a Night Hunt garners more attention than Baekhyun had predicted during his journey home.

The airports had smelled sweetly of human energies just as they always have, but this time Baekhyun didn't feel like he was less than a second from tearing out of his own skin to keep himself from hurting someone around him. He feels more stable than he's felt in the entirety of his memory. He breathes in deeply as he steps past the main entrance hall, heading towards the large room that the First Tamer calls his office. He can sense that lack of emotion facade he's always used starting to peel away in the presence of the demons that wander the halls alongside their Tamers, and he stubbornly forces it back in place.

He keeps his heart rate calm and his claws carefully sheathed. The ache in his gums he ignores, and he tugs the right sleeve of his jacket up to show the tattoos swirling down his wrist. He adjust the collar of his jacket, sticks his gloves in the large pockets.

He looks like a Tamer just returned from a job, and in a way he is-- he just doesn't have the golden crest that marks the official Tamers of the Gatewatchers sewn into the left breast of his jacket.

"And there were once little fishies in the pond," a voice echoes down the hallway, singing sweetly. "Just little fish, but a bigger fish came along and left the pond to die." There's a slight cackle following the haunting melody, and Baekhyun knows that voice and that song.

There is only one demon around the Gatewatchers' facilities who is brave enough to sing the lullabies of her people, and if that demon is out on the human plane, then so is her twin from the Taming that claimed her. Irene, Baekhyun knows well. Neither Irene nor her partner in crime, Seulgi, are particularly fond of him, but they're not extensively cruel either. They regard his choice to ignore his demon heritage as a loss instead of an insult.

They aren't at all like the First Tamer's demons who snarl at every rude remark Baekhyun makes about demons and his human blood.

It's almost odd, Baekhyun thinks, because Irene and Seulgi are the demons of the First Tamer's son, and if they're out in the corridors that lead to the First Tamer's office, then the First Tamer's son is not far behind.

"Hush, Irene," a second voice, Seulgi's this time, interrupts Irene's humming. "I can sense him."

"Who?"

"Don't you feel it?"

Baekhyun keeps walking, but trepidation is creeping over him now. He's never before been _felt_ in that way that demons have where they sense each others' presence. Chanyeol had told him once it's because his blood is too weak, because he denies it for as long as he can until his claws are pushing their way through his skin and his fangs are splitting his lip. Now, his blood runs through his veins alongside Sehun's, and though no other Tamer can be sensed like the demons can feel each other, Baekhyun thinks maybe, just maybe, he might be becoming more of what he detests.

"He can't be here!" Irene whispers harshly, and Baekhyun pauses before rounding the last corner. There's no reason why he shouldn't be here, but nothing else makes sense for them to be talking about.

"It doesn't feel entirely like him," Seulgi soothes instantly, but her voice is shaking, the echo in her throat bouncing off the walls sporadically. Baekhyun furrows his eyebrows in confusion, and he catches that he's making expressions, that he's letting himself _feel_ something beyond that blank mask, a moment too late.

Irene gasps.

"I see," she says, and she sounds absolutely delighted. Her sweet voice rings out down the hall. "Baekhyun," she calls. "Are you there?" Baekhyun's heart stutters in his chest. He taps his boots a couple times to make it seem like he's been walking, and he doubts he's managed to fool either demoness as he rounds the corner.

He doesn't greet the two demons as he nears them, keeping his eyes carefully focused between them the way he's always done. He doesn't feel that awful pull in his chest to let them take him apart if they wish like he has in the past. Instead, he almost feels a sort of power over them, and the slightly scared, slightly confused expressions on their faces are enough to tell Baekhyun that something is out of place for both parties.

"I see you're wearing the Tamer's jacket," Seulgi says, keeping her voice even now. She swallows, and the tips of her fangs catch in the dim lighting of the corridor. She adjusts her black skirt, letting it fall open around her legs. She's fidgeting, Baekhyun realizes, and he wonders just what it is that has the powerful mid-level so spooked. "So you were successful then."

She doesn't sound surprised at all, and Baekhyun wonders if that means the First Tamer's son knows too.

He nods, but does not give a verbal response.

"That's wonderful," Irene inserts, stepping up beside her partner, wrapping an arm around her waist. Her white dress is clean, but Baekhyun can see the energy of souls consumed in her past shimmering above the fabric. His sight for souls has never been so acute before, and he can do nothing but blame Sehun's blood for it. "You seem better now."

Baekhyun can't stop the question. "What do you mean?"

Irene blinks. "Balanced," she offers. "You seem more balanced. Like your body isn't warring with itself over just how much of demon you are."

"I've always thought you were more demon," Seulgi says, and it's the first time either of the demons have offered their opinion on this particular subject. "It's strange to see you looking so powerful."

"Am I," Baekhyun murmurs. He does feel powerful right now, standing in the presence of these two, and he doesn't know why. "Why?" Both of them meet his eyes for only a moment before they turn and look at themselves instead. They bite their lips, and Irene's fingers curl a little tighter around Seulgi's waist. They say nothing, and no answer seems to be forthcoming.

"I have to meet with Lord Tamer," Baekhyun breaks the silence that has settled over them.

"You'll have to wait," Seulgi whispers. She strokes a hand down the side of Irene's face, tapping her fingers over her collarbone, sending her a message that Baekhyun can't read.

He turns his eyes on her, and Seulgi gasps sharply. She ducks her head from his gaze immediately.

"Our Tamer is inside," Irene says.

"He's coming out the doors now, though," Seulgi continues. "He wishes to speak with you." Irene smiles in agreement with Seulgi's words, and they slowly separate themselves. Seulgi breathes in a sigh, rubbing her own arms.

"I suppose we should congratulate the halfling," she says, voice far too loud and echoing in the hallway. “He’s done something we all thought impossible.”

It happens in a second. One moment Irene is beside Seulgi, and the next she's got her arm hooked around the other demon's neck, her hand pressed over her partner's mouth. The doors of the First Tamer's office fling open, and Irene lets out a frustrated hiss.

"You promised you would stop this," she says, not moving her position from her partner's body. Seulgi gives a sort of frustrated sigh, muffled by Irene's hand.

“You’re disobeying,” says Kyungsoo from the top of the steps to Lord Tamer’s office. His hands are clenched into tight fists, the tattoos over the backs of each hand flash yellow and pink as he exercises his control over his demons, instructing Irene’s body to move to stop Seulgi from speaking. It’s an incredible display over power over his demons, a result of a blood exchange that is multiple decades old. 

Baekhyun meets Kyungsoo's eyes as he steps down the steps from the office doors. "You promised you wouldn't say or give opinions on Baekhyun's situation, didn't you?" he asks them calmly. “His status is not to be discussed outside of closed doors.” He snaps his fingers, and just like that, Irene relaxes, body back in control of itself again. "I don't make one-sided deals," Kyungsoo continues. "I asked for silence about Baekhyun from you both, and Seulgi seems to be talkative today."

"I didn't say anything much," the demon argues with her tamer. The First Tamer's son shrugs his shoulders, his own Tamer's uniform decorated with enough gold on the lapels for it to catch the dim light in the corridor.

"You said enough," Kyungsoo says, and his voice is tinged with a warning tone. He sets his palms on his demons' shoulders, encouraging them to look at him. "Now, keep quiet while I talk with Baekhyun." The two demons nod, their mouths already kept closed. This, Baekhyun realizes, is the true power of the blood exchange over the demons. This is why they fear is and respect those who are powerful enough to perform one.

Such complete control over a demon is any Tamer's dream, but actually achieving it when demons have their own system of loyalty that works to weaken the strength of a blood exchange, is nearly impossible. 

"It seems my blood exchange is wavering with them today," Kyungsoo says. Baekhyun blinks. He almost hadn't realized Kyungsoo is talking to him. "It would seem as if one of their contracts is in the area." He raises an eyebrow. "But a demon prince on this plane? Without a Tamer at this time of day?" He laughs once, hollow. "Far too rare." 

He stares at Baekhyun like he expects an answer, but Baekhyun can say nothing. He doesn't know exactly what it is that Kyungsoo is looking for him to say, and he doesn't have any answers about Irene and Seulgi's behavior. He had found it just as odd as the three in the blood exchange themselves. Irene and Seulgi send frantic glances between themselves, and Baekhyun watches them with a sort of wariness.

"I'm sure they told you I wanted to speak with you," Kyungsoo says, and he's smiling now, the tense mood broken. The air tastes less stale as Baekhyun breathes.

"They did," he confirms.

"Good to know my exchange isn't as weakened as it feels," Kyungsoo says lightly. "Mental communication is usually the first thing to go in the presence of something stronger." Baekhyun nods. This is why Night Hunt has any sort of success. Tamers can mentally command their demons when their blood exchange is strong. But if a demon from that tamed demon's court were to arrive, the bonds of loyalty between them would contest with the blood exchange. It's created to protect the demons, but unfortunately for them, the blood exchange has continued to prevail as the strongest bond between creatures that currently exists in the torn fabrics of their worlds.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Baekhyun asks. He keeps his words calm, flexes his hands to make sure he still feels in control.

"To congratulate you, of course," Kyungsoo says. He sounds genuinely pleased. "I've been watching you since you arrived here at Gatewatchers, Baekhyun. It's nice to see you've finally joined the ranks of Tamers like you've always said you would." Kyungsoo takes a step in and drops a hand on Baekhyun's shoulder. "I knew you could do it.”

Baekhyun feels warmth spread through him. It feels nothing at all like the hellfire that ran through his veins only hours again. It feels like that strange, overly fond expression that his fellow Watchers and Tamers wear when they receive letters and calls from their family members.

"Thank you," Baekhyun whispers. Kyungsoo hums.

"What's that?"

"Thank you, hyung," Baekhyun concedes. Kyungsoo grins then.

"Alright, well," he says. "I need to get going. I’ve got an appointment of sorts." He gestures to his demons. "Come, both of you."

"Where are you going?" Baekhyun allows himself to ask, and Kyungsoo pauses in his walking.

"I'll come back," he promises instead of offering an actual answer. Baekhyun feels a pang in his chest-- worry sharp and bitter on his tongue. "Now," Kyungsoo urges. "Go meet my father. He wants to see your demon." Baekhyun nods stiffly, but he doesn't turn back to the doors until Kyungsoo and his demons have rounded the corner, the taste of caution and fear just barely tainting the air in the corridor.

Baekhyun stares at the doors of the office, closes his eyes, and breathes. He remembers the desperate pull of Sehun fighting against the blood exchange and the sudden relaxation when Sehun has given in, allowing the bond to solidify, stretched evenly between them. He feels the power that comes with being a Tamer race through him, feels Sehun's power in his veins, and confidence surges with it as he steps forward and pushes the doors open.

"Ah, Baekhyun," says the lord Tamer's voice the moment Baekhyun is fully inside. "I've been expecting you. I'm glad to see you in one piece." Baekhyun bows. This room is open and round, the floor bare, light coloured wood that shows stains of Tamings terminated and demons attempting to take back their Tamer's share of their blood. Up on a dais, surrounded by a large mirror and an even grander clock, stands the First Tamer. His eyes, as they always have been, are covered by a mask, but his mouth, for the first time in Baekhyun's time knowing him, is twisted into a crooked smile.

It would be almost charming if not for the scar that cuts through his upper lip and the matte black of his clothing. The First Tamer is intimidating, has the presence of powerful demons even when his tamings do not stand around him. Over half of the princes of the demon royal courts belong to the First Tamer. He is the only reason earth is still considered habitable for humans. Without the Lord Tamer, demons would have long taken over entirely. He commands respect with the set-up of his office alone, and Baekhyun is alive because of his graciousness.

"Lord Tamer," Baekhyun greets.

"I see you've worn my gift today," the First Tamer says, conversational and bright. "It looks good on you. Truly, the look I would expect from one of the most talented Watchers in this branch." Baekhyun nods, enjoying the fond sound in the First Tamer's voice. He doesn't bother to mention that his half-demon blood gives him a physical advantage of a wide margin over fully human Tamers.

"Thank you, Lord Tamer," Baekhyun says.

"You're always so formal, Baekhyun," the First Tamer says. "It's always fun to talk to you. I feel respected. Joonmyun just judges me for wearing a mask, and my own son is looking forward to taking my position. I don't see many tamings nowadays." He grins again, and it looks odd with the mask over his eyes. Baekhyun has never seen his eyes, and he doesn't think he ever will, but his smile looks almost disembodied amidst all the black like this.

"You wanted to see my demon, sir?" Baekhyun asks. The First Tamer waves him off.

"I want to talk with you some first," the Lord Tamer says instead of the agreement Baekhyun has expected. "I may know you well, but this is how it always goes when I inspect a new taming. Sit." He gestures towards the table just to Baekhyun's side. It's simple thing, four chairs and a square top, and Baekhyun drops himself in the nearest seat. He watches with a sort of fascination as the First Tamer makes his way down his steps of his dias, striding across the room in a way that makes him almost appear as if he's floating. Though he's not tall, his presence is of a man who stands head and shoulders above the rest of the population.

For the first time since the he completed his blood exchange with Sehun, Baekhyun can feel his demonic side creeping to the edge of his skin, poking at his fingertips and wanting to break free. Baekhyun breathes evenly through his nose.

"Interesting," the Lord Tamer says, pulling out the chair across from Baekhyun and sitting down. "You look on edge suddenly."

"Nervous," Baekhyun offers by way of explanation. It is true; he's bit nervous for showing his Taming, nervous Sehun won't obey in that way he likes to do. Sehun had promised his devotion, but Baekhyun had just witnessed a blood exchange from the Lord Tamer’s son experience a moment of weakness.

Over the nerves, the most prevalent feeling in Baekhyun right now is trying to keep the urge to back away from the Lord Tamer in check. He's never felt like running from the man who, for all intents and purposes, has been his adoptive father, but right now, his instincts are screaming that everything is wrong, that this man has done something to someone close to Baekhyun.

But Baekhyun is close to no one, not even himself. He's an alien in his own halfling body.

"Are you?" the First Tamer asks. He sounds relieved even if the tilt of his head seems to say he's not entirely convinced. "There's no reason to be. I don't terminate tamings often, and when I do, it's because the gain from the loss will be greater than the gain from the survival."

"I see," Baekhyun offers despite not entirely understanding.

"Tell me, Baekhyun," the First Tamer continues on. "How human are you?"

"I'm human," Baekhyun answers automatically. It's the answer the First Tamer and his mentor, Joonmyun, have drilled into him since his childhood. People won't take too nicely to a half-demon within the facility walls, and though some have figured it out, others pretend to notice nothing odd about Baekhyun. It's easier to believe demons are under control, to believe that they can't love or engage in human activities, than it is to accept that a demon might actually have slept with a human, that a demon might actually have begot a son. It's easier to believe Baekhyun is simply odd (he does consider Taehyung, the demon worshipper, his best friend) than it is to accept that he is a halfling.

"Always so quick and assured," the Lord Tamer crows. "How did you find Night Hunt in Seoul? Did you enjoy South Korea?"

"Night Hunt looks the same everywhere," Baekhyun says. He sees Yerim, stomach torn open, in his mind’s eye. "The destruction and fire don't really vary from city to city."

"Ah, true." The Lord Tamer meets Baekhyun's gaze then, at least, Baekhyun thinks he does. He can't quite tell through the mask. "You look like you've seen some horrors you'd rather not relive." Baekhyun nods. He can't tell the Lord Tamer the truth about watching a young girl die, watching her soul be torn from her body and consumed. He can't tell him that he wanted to taste the soul himself, that he wanted to throw up even as his claws ached to sink into the bloody mess of her body.

"Do you know why I wear this mask, Baekhyun?" the Lord Tamer asks, and this time, all Baekhyun can do is shake his head. He has no clue why the First Tamer wears that mask, all he knows is that he started wearing it when he gained his immortality. The First Tamer is a bit of a conundrum, something of a legend.

As far as Baekhyun has been told, he once journeyed to hell through the gates. His body was affected by the miasma of hell and he has since gained immortality. He knows he has worn that mask ever since he returned from the other side, but as to why he feels the needs to wear it, Baekhyun is clueless.

"You see, Baekhyun," the First Tamer says softly, leaning in. This close, Baekhyun can almost see the outline of the First Tamer's eyes through the fabric of the mask. "I wear this mask not to protect myself, but to protect others from the horrors I've seen. Eyes reveal so much, did you know?" He stands suddenly, but he doesn't give Baekhyun a chance to answer his question as he continues. "There are horrors reflected in my eyes. That's what happens when you spend time in a place like hell. The horrors you've seen on Night Hunt are nothing in comparison." Baekhyun nods. He doesn't know what horrors one can see in hell, but something in him races with a thrill at the idea of seeing hell itself, of being in the middle of the miasma, and breathing in the air that his people have breathed for eons.

His people?

"You're a strong kid, Baekhyun," the Lord Tamer's voice cuts into Baekhyun's thoughts. "Stand up. I want to see your demon."

"Yes, sir." Baekhyun pushes himself up to his feet, moving back towards the circle on the floor. it's been seared into the light hardwood with fire, it seems, and Baekhyun gives the Lord Tamer time to return to his dias. He shoves up the sleeve of his jacket again, showing off as many of his new markings as he can.

"You may begin," the Lord Tamer says, waving a hand and giving Baekhyun full reign of the show. Sehun cackles in his head. Baekhyun breathes.

Baekhyun's claws burst from his fingers, and he slashes them over his wrist, digging into his skin and drawing blood. Red runs in thin streams over the tattoos, and he feels the warmth of hellfire starting from his fingers and curling up his arm along the lines of Sehun's markings where they repeat on his skin. He turns his arms over, and the blood drop in a few successive drops in the middle of the circle. This time, unlike last time before the bond had sealed, Baekhyun can feel Sehun's presence, can feel the way he waits for his body to be yanked from it's place in his court, can feel the way he reaches back automatically for Baekhyun.

He tastes Sehun’s disgust at his own agreement to the bond and his annoyance at having to obey, but that same draw to be close to Sehun is still there. "Come," he calls, and though that's all he needs to say this time, he orders again for good measure. _"Come!_

The ground swirls, and gates screech and scream, spiders and snakes on the wrought iron gates rising from the hellfire swirling out in branches across the floor. A cackle, loud and displeased, rises from the gate, and Baekhyun drops only a few more bits of his blood on the circle, making sure Sehun is well within his grasp before he draws his arm back to himself. He doesn't watch his skin, but he can feel the strange, but not unpleasant, way his skin tugs at itself as it stitches together, healing up faster than any human is capable of.

The gates, Sehun's gates, gifted to him by his hell queen, scream as they're thrown open, and from within, Sehun steps out.

Baekhyun has to keep his jaw from dropping. He isn't sure if he's shocked or amazed that his summonings worked in the first time, but Sehun in what looks like a full suit is not at all what Baekhyun has expected when he said "dress nice."

"You called?" Sehun smirks, brushing his hands down the front of jacket, smoothing it. "You're normally full of demands. This quiet you-- ah, what an expressionless face." Baekhyun's hands shake as he forces himself to not react to the sudden heat in his stomach, the sudden flow of power through him. He wants to step in closer to Sehun, to stand with him like he has a place beside him instead of in command of him. That’s not how this taming should work, it shouldn’t be feel like belonging and want.

"Quiet," Baekhyun tells his demon, and Sehun raises an unimpressed eyebrow even as he complies. Baekhyun steps up beside him, the edges of the heels of his boots sinking back into the fading hell gate.

"Lord Tamer," he introduces, gesturing towards the dais where the First Tamer stands, watching him and his demon. "I present Demon Prince Sehun with whom I have completed a blood exchange."

A laugh, harsh and echoing only once, is barked from Sehun's mouth. "This is who you've called me to meet?" he sneers, his voice cracking with anger that Baekhyun can feel running through his own body. He doesn't understand it though. There is little that they, the Watchers and Tamers, know about the Lord Tamer himself, only his history and how he achieved his position. Even the other demons seem to be unknowledgeable on the subject or extremely close-lipped.

"I told you I would have to present you to the Lord Tamer," Baekhyun says, careful of his word choice. "You understand loyalty, don’t you? I am loyal to him, so show him the same respect you show me. He's the one who decides if we live or die." He doesn’t mention that ‘respect’ isn’t exactly prevalent between them.

Baekhyun watches with something akin to horror that he keeps masked as he watches Sehun's expression twist into sincere disgust. "You're placing my life in the hands of this _hell reject?_ "

 

The words ring around the office, bouncing off the vaulted ceilings, and the Lord Tamer's face is turned towards Sehun with his lips turned down in a frown.

"Whether I live or die," Sehun continues, speaking louder, his words directed towards the First Tamer. "Will never be determined by that man.” Baekhyun grips the markings on his own wrist tightly, and the twitch in Sehun's lip that pauses halfway to a grimace lets him know his warning has reached the demon prince.

"Whatever allegiances you hold aren’t of importance to me," Sehun spits at Baekhyun. He jerks his head back towards the First Tamer, and Baekhyun narrows his eyes. "I hold allegiance to _you_ because of _this._ " He grabs Baekhyun's arm, holding up the markings for both of them to see. "But I refuse to agree with your blind trust in _him._ " He jabs a finger at the Lord Tamer, and Baekhyun feels disgust flare through him-- disgust that is not his own.

“I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter, Prince Sehun,” the Lord Tamer interjects calmly. "Though I understand your hesitance to pledge yourself to me."

"My fellow princes may have given themselves to you to save themselves from my brother and my queens, but I know exactly who you are." Sehun eyes burn red, and Baekhyun's body feels sick with the tumult of emotions not his own, that spread in painful pricks through his fingers and toes as they flux from Sehun into him through the bond. The blood exchange sloshes in his ears like hail in half-melted snow, and Baekhyun wants to throw up.

"Do you?" the First Tamer asks, and his voice is dubious. Heat of displeasure flashes through Baekhyun, and he glances up at his demon.

"I know enough," the demon prince defends, and the Lord Tamer hums.

"Tell me, Demon Prince," he muses, and Baekhyun watches his arms raise, watches the overlap of marking from multiple claimings spiral up his arms. Some flash orange, and others flash yellow, but the knives in his hands moving too rapidly for Baekhyun’s eyes to track say only one thing: he's about to make a summoning. "Did you come today with the intent to die?"

Baekhyun's heart thunders in his chest, and frigid, gripping fear overrides the anger and disgust that Sehun floods him with over their blood exchange.

"Lord Tamer," Baekhyun starts. "Please, ignore him. He--"

"Baekhyun," the Lord tamer interrupts. Baekhyun's half-baked plea dies quickly on his tongue, for he had no real defense to start with. "You told us you wanted a strong demon, and a mid-level would have sufficed."

"My demon is strong," Baekhyun says, and he isn't sure if the pride in his chest is his or Sehun's.

"Since you have walked in that door, I have noticed something that I cannot in good conscience allow." The blades turn quickly in his hands, and red, dark and menacing, wells on Minseok's forearms. It falls down towards his palms and drips to the floor-- two drops of blood. That's all it takes.

The air seems to hold still for only a moment before two gates, red and gold, spinning with the miasma of hell misting above them, open at either side of the Lord Tamer.

"I've noticed you are having even more trouble keeping yourself in check," the Lord Tamer says. "I've noticed that you seem more comfortable in your own skin. I've noticed there is a permanent point to your teeth." Baekhyun swipes his tongue quickly over his canine teeth that drop to his full fangs. The points are indeed there-- razor sharp. He tastes blood on his tongue.

"I'm proud to see your body has finally settled into itself with the addition of your demon's blood," the Lord Tamer seemingly praises. "I'm proud to have raised such a powerful watcher. Unfortunately, the blood of a demon prince, and Prince Sehun no less, has taken you into the realm you promised me you would not enter." His stare, veiled as it is, is solely on Baekhyun. "Didn't you tell me you would remain human?"

"I am human!" Baekhyun nearly shouts. The gates spin a little faster.

"You've always been more demon, Baekhyun," the Lord Tamer says. "It seems I was a fool to let you stay so long." He takes a breath, and Baekhyun feels Sehun make a grab at their blood exchange, feels the pull in his chest, as up from the gates rise two demons Baekhyun has known his whole life.

He wonders if Chanyeol and Kai will be pleased to end him on the Lord Tamer's order.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little halfling," Kai teases, fangs already showing in his full, mocking grin. "I wondered if your taming would be accepted. It seems your demon--" He cuts himself off, eyes wide as he stares at Sehun.

"Prince Sehun," Chanyeol's deep voice echoes hollowly as it's always done, but Baekhyun doesn't feel a thrill of want run through him like he's always experienced in the demon prince's presence since he hit puberty. He can feel the roar of power in the room more acutely than ever; three demon princes standing together in one place.

"Tamed," Chanyeol continues. "I never thought I'd see the day." He claps once. "Even you couldn't resist Baekhyun, it seems. Blood is thicker than water, after all." He holds up a hand, and heavy black claws curve from his fingers. He grins, and his fangs glint.

"Ready to kill him already, Prince Chanyeol?" Kai asks. "We haven't even received official orders." The demon moves in close to the Lord Tamer, his hips swaying as he wraps his arms over the holder of his blood exchange's shoulders. "Minseok," the demon practically purrs. "Truly, if you wanted a blood bath, you could have called Prince Kris. He's been aching for Baekhyun's soul for _years._ "

Baekhyun blinks. He's never heard the Lord Tamer's name before this moment, never seen him interact so intimately with his demons. Or, to be more accurate, Baekhyun has never seen Kai so obviously against the idea of bloodshed.

"Kris doesn't have the chemistry that you and Chanyeol have," the Lord Tamer explains, stroking his hand through Kai's hair. "He could never take on Sehun and live."

"Ah," Kai murmurs, nodding like he understands. Baekhyun swallows, trying to fight down the bile rising in his throat. Sehun is fiercely pleased at the First Tamer’s opinion of his strength; it resounds in their exchange. Baekhyun, however, is broadcasting betrayal. He came here to present his first taming-- the taming that would secure his place among the ranks of Tamers. Instead, he’s to give up his life to soothe the Lord Tamer’s _fear._ "The Two Queens would never create a weak prince; you are right." Chanyeol lets out a laugh.

"The Two Queens can create all the princes they want, but a single prince who can stand up to two princes?" He sneers at Sehun. "Impossible." Sehun bristles.

"You don't know my queens," he scoffs, his nonchalance covering the nervous shiver that Baekhyun can feel in his bones, foreign but insistent. Two princes against one do not put the odds in Sehun's favour, and Baekhyun will have no choice but to fight to protect him in order to keep his own life. The Lord Tamer called out both Kai and Chanyeol though, his two strongest princes. He intends for Sehun to die, to kill a prince not under his control and kill Baekhyun in the process. The chaos that will lead to in Sehun's court will diminish their presence in Night Hunt for months to come. The gain in their deaths will be greater than the gain in their living.

Baekhyun fights to hide his furious grimace. He risked his _humanity_ for the chance to stand in front of Lord Tamer and be proclaimed a Tamer. Baekhyun performed the taming on Sehun just for the chance to live. He isn't ready to give up his life so easily for this organization who keep him on a strictly need to know basis.

To hell with the greater good; Baekhyun is not about to die. And he won’t let Sehun die either.

"What queens?" he asks, stalling for time. He clenches a fist and reaches into himself for the blood exchange, hoping that it's strong enough to run rampant, to set fire to his marking, to match the power surging through the First Tamer.

"Why don't you tell your Tamer, Prince Sehun?" Kai coaxes, sliding away from his Tamer and moving to wrap himself around Chanyeol instead. The taller demon prince's arms fall easily around Kai, holding him against him.

"The Court of Two Queens," Chanyeol starts instead. "Is the most volatile court on the Hell plane, and this demon prince is the second most powerful demon to ever come from there." His eyes are sharp and wicked. "Prince Sehun, tell your Tamer who the first was."

Sehun meets Baekhyun's eyes with something like sadness even as his voice grates over his next words and shivers of fear of just what exactly is running through his veins, what is mixed with his blood, splinter through him. "My brother," the demon prince says darkly. "The Demon King."

"Gone, however," Kai whispers mysteriously. "No one, the princes, the hell queens, the legions, have any idea where he is." He leans forward, hands settling on Chanyeol’s hold on his waist. His tail lashes out behind him in an arc that widens with his full-fanged snarl like the lack of knowledge is a thorn in his side. "Except the two queens themselves."

"They don't know," Sehun says. It feels like an automatic reaction to Baekhyun, like the words were pulled from his mouth out of muscle memory. Kai smirks at his fellow demon prince, and he spins his way out of Chanyeol's grip, sauntering forward. Sehun growls lowly, but Baekhyun gives him no orders as Kai steps in close to him, draping an arm over his shoulders.

"I've always said it, halfling," he says, voice soft as a whisper and echoing for Baekhyun's ears only. He reaches up with with opposite hand, tracing his fingers down the side of Baekhyun's face. Baekhyun watches Sehun's eyes trace the path the Lord Tamer's demon's fingers take as they ghost over his lower lip and grab on to his chin. "You're far more us than you are them." Kai turns Baekhyun's head, forcing him to look at the First Tamer.

"Are you going to kill me now?" Baekhyun asks, voice cold. He's already let the demon prince in this close, and as powerful, as fast as Sehun is, he doesn't think he could possibly stop Kai from making a move towards Baekhyun's death at this close range. Kai laughs in Baekhyun's ear. His first finger slips past Baekhyun's lips, the pad of it pressed against Baekhyun's fang not quite hard enough to draw blood.

If Baekhyun were to bite down right now, Kai's blood would be in his mouth, and it would take only a short order on Baekhyun's part to hold him still, to give himself time to get away from a killing blow. He can't override the First Tamer's blood exchange with the demon prince, but he can earn himself enough time to get away. He holds his breath, waiting for any sharp pain, waiting for Kai to make a move.

And then the demon is gone from holding on to him.

"I haven't received an order yet," he scoffs, stepping back. "Prince Sehun would be very disappointed if I were to kill you before I killed him. He doesn't want to feel the pain of being connected to someone as his soul is torn from his body and consumed by another demon." His eyes are nostalgic as he steps back from Baekhyun. Baekhyun gives a little jerk of his wrist, and suddenly Sehun is beside him, his tail wrapping around Baekhyun's waist and keeping him standing upright as relief floods him at the distance between himself and Kai.

It's strange, Baekhyun thinks, how long the Lord Tamer has postponed this battle, and even stranger how much Kai has done to stall it. Chanyeol growls from the dias, and Sehun bares his teeth.

"Do you understand now, Baekhyun?" The First Tamer asks. "I have in front of me the strongest demon in hell, and to let you live just so you can tame him, to let the opportunity to destroy one of the courts that ravages our world on Night Hunt disappear? That's not fair reign. I've terminated tamings under far less severe ground." He steps down onto the steps off the dais, his sleeves dropping back down to cover the glowing markings on his arms. "But this time, hundreds of lives are at stake, Baekhyun. Lives I can save easily but at an unfortunate cost." Chanyeol and Kai move to the First Tamer's sides, and their tails are whipping behind them, their claws and fangs out.

Sehun hisses, and Baekhyun can feel his anticipation for a fight stirring in his own blood. His claws burst from his fingertips, and his fangs drop fully from his gums. He doesn't have a tail, but Sehun's overlong one is enough for him to pretend that he really is just another one of these demon princes--

Human.

"Terminate this taming," the First Tamer says simply, and Chanyeol and Kai lunge.

Kai slams into Baekhyun, bowling him over. He hears Sehun's angry scream and manages a glance of Chanyeol rolling on the floor with his demon, their tails wrapped around each others' throats. Baekhyun throws an arm up, swiping blindly with his claws. He wants to keep an eye on his demon, but Kai is holding him back, trapping him with his shins over Baekhyun's thighs and his hands on his wrists.

"Halfling," Kai sing-songs, and Baekhyun swipes again with his claws, drawing three jagged lines down the side of Kai's face. Kai screams, and it's just enough for Baekhyun to buck his hips and throw the demon prince to the side. Baekhyun grabs the demon's hair, gripping it far too tight in his shaking fingers. Kai gets a hand on Baekhyun's wrist just before he can yank his head back. His presses his fingers hard into the inside of Baekhyun's wrist, and his grip loosens with the attack on his pressure point. Kai jumps up to his feet, pressing a hand against the gashes on his face, and Baekhyun stands facing him, flexing his hand.

"Still, just a halfling," Kai murmurs, voice harsh as red shows through the cracks between his fingers. "What is it the little demon worshiper calls you? Princeling, right?" Baekhyun leaps for him. He doesn't want to kill Kai, he's known him for so long, but his demon is fighting another prince only a few meters from him. Sehun's urge to stay alive has Baekhyun ensuring his own safety. 

He's defeated a demon prince before, forced a taming on him, but fighting Kai right now feels different. The Kai he's always known, who bothers him before Night Hunt, who asks him invasive questions and gets too close, the warmth of his breath ghosting over Baekhyun's cheek, is acting quite oddly right now. Baekhyun doesn't know what to expect in this fight, doesn't understand why Kai is pulling his punches. He adds a few more steps to his advance on Kai, giving him time to get up in case he suddenly wants to fight back.

Baekhyun grabs Kai's shoulders, drawing his knee up hard, and Kai brings up his arms to block the attack a moment too late. The demon prince coughs harshly, his tail lashing behind him. Baekhyun shoves him back and drops to the floor, sweeping his leg out. Kai laughs as he falls, hitting the ground with a dull thud. His fangs are bright in his mouth, and his claws are out now.

Warning bells ring in Baekhyun's head, and he throws himself over Kai, pinning him to the ground. 

"Why don't you fight?" he hisses, only to receive a mocking grin, bloody from hits he'd taken from Baekhyun's fists and claws. Baekhyun watches the skin torn into ribbons from his claws stitch back together, but the blood stains still play at appearing like macabre lipstick on the demon prince’s lips.

Kai yanks a hand free, and with a hand on the back of Baekhyun's neck, lifts his torso just enough to whisper in Baekhyun's ear. "Is that not what we're doing right now?"

Sehun screams, and heat flares through Baekhyun. He slams Kai's head back down against the marble floor and scrambles to his feet. In front of him, Chanyeol has Sehun's arm twisted back, and the claws of one hand sinking slowly into Sehun's chest.

"Chanyeol!" Baekhyun shouts, and he sprints forward, sinking his claws into Chanyeol's forearm as he jumps. His momentum carries him around, slamming his knees into Chanyeol's back. Chanyeol lets go of Sehun out of shock and pain, and Baekhyun uses the moment of weakness to draw Chanyeol's arm back and twist just as the demon prince had done to Baekhyun's demon. Chanyeol reaches back, and his claws sink into Baekhyun's side.

"Sehun!" Baekhyun calls, voice cracking on the pain. Sehun is there in a second, meeting Baekhyun's eyes over Chanyeol's shoulder as he presses the black tips of his claws into the soft skin of Chanyeol's throat.

"Isn't it fortunate our courts have never fought, Prince Sehun?" Chanyeol coughs.

"I wonder," Sehun hisses back at his fellow prince. "What happens to your precious Lord Tamer if I kill you?"

Baekhyun gasps. He'd completely forgotten. He glances up at Lord Tamer, and the stern frown he'd worn when he demanded Baekhyun's taming be terminated has turned into teeth worrying his bottom lip.

"Sehun, don't--!"

The doors of the office slam open. "What is going on here?"

Baekhyun snaps his head around, shocked to see someone he hasn't seen for months sauntering into the First Tamer's office like he owns it. Chanyeol's claws tighten in Baekhyun side, and Sehun's claws slip further into his neck in warning. Baekhyun does not dare retract his claws or grip from Chanyeol's arm.

"Joonmyun," the First Tamer greets. "Why are you here?"

"I heard commotion," the Second Tamer, the only man who comes close to the Lord Tamer's position in Gatewatchers, answers casually. "Were you aware you have three demon princes in your office?" He hums. "Seems dangerous."

"I'm terminating a taming," Lord Tamer tells him. "Baekhyun has allowed himself to become a liability, letting Prince Sehun's blood into his system." Joonmyun claps in delight, spinning to face Baekhyun.

"Baekhyun! You're back!" he calls out, making his way toward Baekhyun. He pauses as he steps over Kai's prone form. "Stop playing dead, you imbecile."

Kai blinks open his eyes. "You're no fun." Joonmyun kicks his jaw.

"On the contrary," he says. "I'm the most fun." He moves to embrace Baekhyun, and his confused expression looks completely out of place next to Chanyeol and Sehun, who look entirely murderous.

"Let go of Chanyeol, Baekhyun," Joonmyun orders. He smacks Chanyeol's head. "And let go of Baekhyun. Pick on someone your own size." Baekhyun can't help the yelp that spills from his mouth as Chanyeol instantly retracts his claws, and he lets go of the demon prince in response, pressing his hand over the wound at his side. It will heal quickly, but he can feel the sting of his clothing rubbing against an open wound.

"Baekhyun," Joonmyun adds. "Tell your demon to let go of Chanyeol." Baekhyun blinks.

"Sehun, please, just-" Sehun obeys before the order is even completed, and Baekhyun is suddenly encased in Joonmyun's hug. He coughs.

"Second Tamer," Baekhyun whispers, fighting to breathe from the exertion of the fight and Joonmyun's tight grip around him. "Lord Tamer is coming over here." Joonmyun lets Baekhyun go immediately, and he stumbles back. He doesn't expect Sehun to catch him, to press his own hand against the wound in Baekhyun's side.

"Joonmyun," the First Tamer says, ordering with a gesture for Chanyeol to go over to where Kai is now lounging on the floor, tapping his claws against the marble. "What do you think you're doing?"

Joonmyun blinks and grins. "Stopping you from making an obscene mistake as usual, of course." He sounds totally amicable, but the Lord Tamer's frown underneath his mask is severe.

"You think you can just order my demons around as you please?" he demands. The Second Tamer holds up an arm and pulls his sleeve up. The faint, gray shadows of what must have been a demon's markings wrap around him forearms. He points at Chanyeol where he leans over Kai, prodding at his head even as Kai insists he's totally fine.

"Don't forget who tamed that demon for you," he says with a smile.

"A demon prince is in my office, tamed by a halfling who has always been at risk for becoming more demon than human, and you're asking me to not kill them?" Lord Tamer fumes.

"Well," the Second Tamer says. "Frankly, yes."

"You do realize that the death of that demon will mean thousands less demons who can come up to the earth plane on Night Hunt?" the First Tamer argues.

"And kill Baekhyun?" Joonmyun's expression and easy-going demeanor is gone in an instant, and he steps in close to the Lord Tamer. "We've spent years watching him become the best Watcher this facility has ever seen, and you'll throw that away just to kill a demon who is now under his control?" The Second Tamer puts his hands on his hips and stares at the First Tamer as if he's a young child. "Really, that's too impulsive, Minseok, my friend." He straightens his lab coat and throws a grin over at Baekhyun.

"And you barging in here and stopping a termination in progress isn't?"

Joonmyun shrugs. "Touche. However, I do have something I hope to gain out of this."

The First Tamer snarls and turns on his heel, heading back up to his dais. Chanyeol and Kai scurry after him immediately, leaving blood stains behind them on the marble. Chanyeol hisses something in Kai's ear, and Sehun stifles a laugh behind Baekhyun.

"What?" Baekhyun whispers to him.

"He's mocking him for letting you beat him," Sehun explains shortly.

"I beat you, remember," Baekhyun snaps back at him.

"And this Tamer?" Sehun takes his turn to ask, pointing at Joonmyun.

"My mentor," Baekhyun tells him. "I don't know anything about fathers, but I assume he's the most like one I've ever had." Sehun frowns at him.

"Demon do not know the concept of family," he says, and his tone is unreadable. "We are created.” Baekhyun doesn't know how to respond to that.

"Lord Minseok," Joonmyun is saying, walking up the first two steps of the dais and snapping his fingers in Chanyeol's face when he attempts to snarl at him. "I implore you, for the sake of science, let this taming be approved." He gestures back towards Baekhyun and his demon, and for the first time since Lord Tamer mentioned the way Baekhyun is in less control of his emotions but more control of his body, Baekhyun feels like he has indeed done something to be proud of.

Taming a prince, had it been anyone but him, would have been greeted with celebration immediately. Even now, with his end of the bargain held up, a demon tamed and his markings now on Baekhyun's arm, Baekhyun can't simply be allowed to live. He wonders how many people, if any, actually want him alive.

Joonmyun, judging by the way he's arguing for Baekhyun's life right now, apparently does want Baekhyun alive.

"You reek of sadness," Sehun murmurs against Baekhyun's ear. He glares at his demon out of the corner of his eye, but he says nothing. He doesn't have anything worth saying.

"Let me take responsibility of him," Joonmyun asks the Lord Tamer. "This is the first time we've ever seen a halfling, and the first time a halfling has ever tamed a demon. There is so much to be learned, Minseok. You can't throw that away."

The First Tamer sighs. "The instant something goes wrong, I will kill him," he warns. "Myself, if I have to. I won't allow one boy to endanger the entirety of this facility." Joonmyun barks out a laugh at him.

"Why, Minseok, haven't you been doing that for twenty years now?"

The First Tamer ignores the jibe. "They're under your watch now, Joonmyun," he says. "Don't make me regret this."

The Second Tamer bows slightly. "Thank you," he says, and he sounds earnest. He turns to look at Baekhyun, and Baekhyun shifts to stand straight, ignoring the twinge of pain in his side at the stretch of nearly healed wounds.

"Baekhyun, go home," Joonmyun orders. "Take your demon and leave. I do believe Taehyung is waiting for you outside." Dread, relief, and happiness flood Baekhyun's system. He glances at the Lord Tamer.

"Your taming is approved," the Lord Tamer says, reluctant. Baekhyun takes that as his cue to grab Sehun's wrist and flee. He hears the Lord Tamer sending Kai and Chanyeol home as another argument between the First and Second Tamer starts up. The office doors close loudly behind them.

Baekhyun's back meets the corridor wall.

"What the hell was that about?" Sehun demands. Baekhyun shoves at him, but the demon holds firm, a hand against Baekhyun's chest. "I didn't expect to be killed today."

"You weren't," Baekhyun snaps.

"I didn't think I would have to protect you, either," Sehun adds.

"Then why did you?" Baekhyun asks. "If I had died, you would have been fine." Sehun sniffs, looking offended.

"Your Lord Tamer would most likely have taken your claim on me, and I'd be just another one of his puppet princes," he sneers. "You're the one who protected me from Prince Kai's attack."

"I'm not too intent on dying, in case you didn't know," Baekhyun spits, and he shoves Sehun off of him successfully this time, pushing off the wall and continuing to walk on down the hallway. Sehun groans and follows behind him.

"You act with the loyalty of a demon," Sehun says. Baekhyun freezes.

"What?"

"Demons are organized in courts," he explains. "You know this, don't you?" Baekhyun nods slowly. "I am head of a court. My demons belong to me, and they do what I ask of them in exchange for my protection over them. Your actions against Prince Kai were like that."

"We are in a blood exchange together," Baekhyun reminds his demon. "You don't own me like I am a member of your court."

"Yet I wear your markings on my back," Sehun argues. "I wonder what that means."

"Nothing," Baekhyun answers too quickly. "It means nothing." Truthfully, he has no idea what that could mean, but he isn't exactly fond of what it could mean. He doesn't want to admit how much a demon he truly could be if Sehun has managed to take a trace of him in the form of his markings now worn on his skin.

"Do you believe that?" Sehun asks. Baekhyun keeps quiet, motioning for Sehun to follow him as he leads the way towards the back of the Gatewatchers building where his room is. "I don't mean to anger you," Sehun continues. "I'm just asking. You keep acting like you're so human, but the moment the stakes are raised, all I've seen is how much you react as if you yourself are a prince."

"That's because his demon parent is royalty," calls out the voice of Baekhyun's self-proclaimed best friend. Baekhyun turns the corner, and there, waiting just outside of his door, is Taehyung. The last of the demon worshipping clan opens his eyes wide when he sees Sehun.

"A prince," he breathes. "A halfling demon prince and the lone prince from the Court of Two Queens." His grins, his eyes nearly disappearing from the force of it. "Jimin isn't going to believe me." He laughs at Baekhyun's horrified expression.

"Don't worry, Baek-princess," Taehyung soothes. "I won't call him out now. I just wanted to meet your demon."

Baekhyun breathes a sigh of relief, glancing back at his demon and the strange expression on his face. "My demon, Sehun." He doesn't say anything else-- he doesn't need to. Taehyung already knows that his demon's a prince.

"You're the tamer of Prince Jongdae's duke," Sehun says, and Baekhyun blinks. He knows Jongdae. Taehyung clasps his hands together, and Sehun's attention immediately turns towards the tattoos on his arm instead of the markings he'd been staring at. Baekhyun flicks back and forth between the two of them.

"Yes," Taehyung says, suddenly serious. "I am." Sehun flicks his tail.

"I see," he says, but Baekhyun has no idea what he sees even as the knots of confusion in his chest from Sehun start to unwind.

"I want to sleep," he announces to his demon and his friend.

"Come train with me and Jimin tomorrow," Taehyung suggests. He slings an arm over Baekhyun's shoulders and hugs him tight. "I'm proud of you," he whispers. Then he takes off down the hallways, swinging his arms. "Bring your demon with you!" he calls back.

Baekhyun takes a moment to digest the feeling of being pleased with Taehyung's praise, and he grapples with his door for a moment before he slips inside, pulling Sehun in with him. The demon stands there awkwardly, looking around at the minimalist style of living Baekhyun has.

"Are you hungry?" he asks without thinking. Sehun tilts his head at him.

"Are you offering me your soul?" he asks with an eyebrow raised. Baekhyun grumbles incoherently.

"You seemed rather interested in Taehyung's demon," he says instead to change the topic of conversation, and Sehun wanders over to where Baekhyun is pulling out items for cereal. The heat in his body is from Sehun's presence, from the blood exchange strumming his heart strings with fingers of hellfire.

"Prince Jongdae hasn't been causing trouble for just over a quarter of a century now," Sehun explains. He settles down in a chair at Baekhyun's small table. "He's powerful. The cause of the Great Wars."

"I don't know what those are," Baekhyun admits, dropping his bowl of cereal on the table and settling down to eat. Sehun stares at his choice of food for a moment, his expression conveying 'vaguely disgusted.' He shakes his head and continues.

"Demons are rather possessive," Sehun says. "Prince Jongdae's favorite thing is beautiful demons. He's started wars over the most beautiful demonesses for centuries. There was one time he even tried for my brother. That was before that Hell reject got there, of course. He's been starting wars and holding sieges since before my creation. No one ever expected him to stop."

"But he did?"

"He was tamed," Sehun tells him. Baekhyun thinks back to his brief meeting with the demon prince. He hadn’t seemed tamed, but just because Baekhyun didn’t meet his Tamer doesn’t mean he isn’t. "Since then, the only person who's been in and out of his court with any frequency is Prince Kai. Even his demons aren't famously active during Night Hunt."

"Why Kai?" Baekhyun mumbles around a mouthful of bran flakes.

"He's Prince Jongdae's brother," Sehun answers simply. "Which stands out to me somehow, but I can't quite pinpoint why."

Baekhyun raises an eyebrow, mouth too full to speak. Sehun raises his own, seemingly unimpressed. "Taehyung befriending you and insisting you're a prince's son when his demon is Jimin, duke of Prince Jongdae's court. Prince Kai falling to you so easily during the fight today. It all stands out, and I don't know why."

"Taehyung's been saying that since we met when he was five," Baekhyun says. "I wouldn't put too much stock in it." Sehun stares at him a moment, but he says nothing. Baekhyun picks up his bowl and swallows the last of the milk.

"You seem comfortable now," Sehun says while Baekhyun is washing out his bowl. Baekhyun looks over at him.

"I feel comfortable," he hears himself saying, even as the blood exchange surges through him. He can't tell if it's coming from his end or from Sehun's, but the demon prince is standing and walking towards him now. Baekhyun watches his tail sweep over the linoleum floor, and he looks up just as Sehun stops only a few inches from him.

"What are you doing?" Baekhyun demands.

"I'm seeing just how comfortable you are," Sehun answers, leaning down. Baekhyun can smell the tang of souls on his skin with him this close. "You stiffened up when Taehyung touched you, but if I do this--" He settles a hand on the back of Baekhyun's neck, and Baekhyun leans into it before he notices his body has moved. He flicks his eyes up to meet Sehun's. "See?" the demon prompts.

"See what?" Baekhyun asks, even if he's pretty sure he knows exactly what Sehun is showing him. _I'm human,_ he almost feels like insisting, but he knows Sehun would just laugh at him for such an exclamation.

Sehun angles his head just a little bit, and his voice is low. "You should have just taken my offer," he nearly growls. "You should have come to Hell when I asked you to." He leans over and turns off the faucet. His hands wrap around Baekhyun's waist. "You should have just been mine." He crashes into Baekhyun, lips seeking, and the blood exchange roars up between them.

Baekhyun falls into it, unable to keep back when the blood exchange has him magnetized to Sehun's touch. He grabs at Sehun's suit jacket, fists in the lapels, and pushes him back, moving to slot himself between Sehun's thighs.

"Don't act out," he breathes, harsh against Sehun's throat. "The blood exchange is settled--" He winces as it surges under his skin as if to say it's anything but settled. "--and some tamers and demons indulge in a physical relationship, but we don't--"

"We don't need to," Sehun agrees, but his hands are tighter in the folds of Baekhyun's uniform jacket. "But right now, this exchange you revere so much is giving me something I want." His teeth slide over the shell of Baekhyun's ear. "Come along, little Tamer, you can't resist me."

"I can," Baekhyun murmurs, his lips ghosting over where Sehun's skin meets the collar of his shirt.

"But you won't," Sehun argues, and Baekhyun allows himself to kissed. It would be so easy for Sehun to kill him right now and escape back to Hell, but the demon does nothing but hold Baekhyun close against him as their fangs click together. It's sweet, Baekhyun decides, indulging in the desires of his demon half. Their shared markings glow in the dim light of Baekhyun's room.


	2. Chapter 2

#  _It Continues..._

Kyungsoo steps out of the Gatewatchers headquarters with a mask pulled low over his face. He can hear his demons whispering beside him, grumbling at having to cover their faces and change into clothing that doesn't immediately mark them as the demons they are. They whine, tugging at their simple t-shirts and jeans.

"Human clothing," Seulgi whispers with her nose wrinkled under baseball cap. "Is so bland."

"My dear, dear duchess," Irene whispers back to her, linking their fingers together. "You deserve gowns of silk and gowns of velvet."

"Your words are so sweet," Seulgi murmurs, and she lifts Irene's hand, kissing the back of it.

"Sickeningly so," Kyungsoo agrees, rolling his eyes. "We're not supposed to be attracting any attention. Can you two just--" The two demonesses turn their heads and blink twice at him in sync. Kyungsoo sighs, adjusting his scarf over his face. It's not the best disguise he could have chosen, but the warehouse district is fairly deserted at night. As long as they don't do anything crazy and get themselves caught by any police patrolling the area, Kyungsoo should be fine.

It's a bit of an oxymoron to say that, however, because the whole point of this mission they're on is utterly insane. By it's definition, it's crazy and something that would garner the attention of the authorities. Kyungsoo's father, however, is the highest authority in these parts, and he is the one who mandated this mission. In Kyungsoo's single century of life, he's never done anything that has made him stop and realize he is taking his life in his hands, that one mistake will mean the likelihood of him returning to headquarters is less than zero.

After all, there is only one man who has ever entered hell and returned to tell the tale. That man was Kyungsoo's father, and as per his intentions, Kyungsoo will now be the second. He knew the day he would soon be asked to follow his father’s footsteps was quickly approaching. His father has been waiting for the perfect chance to send Kyungsoo and his demons down to hell in order to claim the same respect Minseok himself has. 

His aging process has been slowed significantly with his genetics being half of his immortal father's, but Minseok wants him to take over Gatewatcher's should something happen to him. The only way to gain immortality is to spend a night breathing hell's miasma in it's purest form-- directly from the source itself.

And so, to Hell he goes.

"Shouldn't we have sensed Wendy by now?" Irene whines, tugging at one of the braids she'd tied her inky hair into. Kyungsoo closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

"We're still a mile away from the meeting point," he says with far more patience than he feels. Irene sags against him.

"Kyungsoo," she sighs. "My Tamer, why couldn't we have driven?"

"You don't even like cars," Seulgi pipes up from Kyungsoo's other side, and his ear vibrates uncomfortably as Irene hisses at her across his chest.

"Shush, Duchess," she says through her teeth.

"Oh, please," Seulgi argues at her. The echo in her voice is resounding more and more the farther away from the city and closer to the fixed gate point they're heading for they get. "Our Tamer already knows you hate riding in cars."

"They purr like cats," Irene snaps, the echo in her own voice starting to resonate, elongating every word far beyond its duration. "I don't like cats." Her tail flicks side to side irritably, and Kyungsoo has to restrain himself from mentioning just how catlike the action is.

"Darling Duchess," Seulgi murmurs, her voice soothing. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. His demons are powerful, part of one of the larger and more respected courts of Hell, but they ricochet between emotions and dispositions, between arguing and cooing at each other, so often that he constantly feels a bit of whiplash when he's standing between them. "Our queen may have been cruel, but you should show some respect for her. She created you."

"Yes, well, I show my disrespect by disliking her affinity animal," Irene says, sticking her nose in the air and stalking off ahead.

"At least she wasn't snake or spider inclined!" Seulgi calls after her. Kyungsoo has to agree with Seulgi. The demon prince with whom his two demons hold contract, and are therefore a part of his court, was born of queens with affinities for spiders and snakes. Seulgi and Irene tell Kyungsoo that their prince himself has no such inclinations, but still he wrinkles his nose at the thought. He has to give the head of his demons' court a bit of respect for, if nothing else, rescuing his demons from their former queen. He has heard nothing but reports of cruelty from her.

Hell Queens, as a general rule, aren't the most friendly, and for choosing to create more of the demon monsters that destroy the human population on Night Hunt, Kyungsoo reckons they are all a bit insane.

There is one Hell queen, however, whom Kyungsoo trusts with his life. His father does, his mother did, and now, so does he. Even his demons trust her, and though demons are very loyal, they do not trust easily.

"I sense her!" Irene shouts, and her tail wriggles behind her before she springs forward into a veil of darkness. The lights from the warehouse district don't reach this far, but it's not surprising for a Hell queen who shouldn't be on the earth plane in the first place to cloak herself entirely in the darkness of night.

Kyungsoo glances at Seulgi. "She's here," the demoness confirms. With his demon's hand on his upper back, Kyungsoo too walks straight into the veil.

"You made it," greets a cheery voice, and hanging off the owner of that voice is Irene. The demon is brushing her fingers through the Hell queens dark blue locks. "I was wondering which one of you I would see first." She hugs Irene to her. "I should have known."

"Where have you been?" Irene whispers frantically. "I thought we would be walking around here forever!"

"I'm sorry about the wait," Wendy answers, addressing all of them. "The Council was keeping me hostage, almost." She winks, her skirts swishing around her ankles. "I only was just able to get myself away in time to build the gate for you." Her eyes land on Kyungsoo, and he swallows thickly.

As much as he trusts his demons to keep him alive, as much as he trusts Wendy to make sure he isn't lost forever in the madness of the miasma as he breathes it, he is still about to journey down to Hell, and that is terrifying.

He clenches his hands into fists to stop them from shaking.

"Even at home though," Irene continues after glancing worriedly at her Tamer. "We haven't seen you there. Joy misses you greatly."

"As I said, and as Joy understands," Wendy answers. "The Council kind of suspects I might not be working entirely for them."

"You've been working as a triple agent for centuries," Seulgi comments. "Why would they catch you now?"

Wendy shrugs. "Been spending too much time with my lady dove, I suppose."

Seulgi leans on Kyungsoo. "You both are sickening."

"And you two aren't?" Wendy argues immediately, gesturing between Irene and Seulgi. Both of Kyungsoo's demons immediately stick their tongues out at the Hell queen, and Wendy laughs.

"Come," she says. "We don't have all night. We've got to get down. The gates like this aren't exactly easy to open." She turns on her heel and begins walking, gravel road under her light sandals. The pieces of her dress flow out behind her, and Kyungsoo can hear Irene and Seulgi grumbling in jealousy in their heads over it.

Wendy pauses, holding up her hands and breathing deeply. "It's here," she announces. She looks at Kyungsoo over her shoulder, and he nods once. His heart is racing. He might not really be ready like he wants them to think he is, but he also has no more time to waste.

Wendy opens her mouth and begins to sing. The notes are haunting, low, traveling down Kyungsoo's spine and dancing on his shoulders. His ears ring with the fullness of the sound, but it does not echo the way his demons' voices do. Instead is seems to shimmer in the air, and Kyungsoo watches in amazement as the stars seem to start to glow all at once. A ring of hellfire opens at Wendy's feet, about three meters in diameter, and Kyungsoo watches as the flames lick higher and higher, twisting with the tempo of her melody. She grabs at the fire, and it parts for the hell queen's hands, twisting and dancing tighter and tighter the taller it grows until Kyungsoo can't see the top of it anymore.

"And this," Wendy finishes in a whisper. "I pray on hellfire alone." There's a roar, and the hellfire dissipates almost instantly, leaving behind a dark red and black portal. It looks like a bastardization of the usual gates through which the demons rise and fall on Night Hunt.

"It is open," Wendy tells Kyungsoo. "Are you ready?"

His hands shake, and almost instantly, Irene and Seulgi are at his side, slipping their hands into his and gripping his elbows tightly. Like this, Kyungsoo doesn't feel any less scared, but he doesn't feel alone. Getting through this night, which could hurt, could be easy, his father didn't say, will only be possible with his demons beside him.

"I am," Kyungsoo says. His voice comes out steady, holding firm despite the pressure settling on his back. He steps forward, and his demons move with him in sync. Wendy flashes a grin that reflects the light of the hell gate, and for a moment Kyungsoo can see the creature of Hell she truly is.

It almost puts him at ease to know she's not hiding from him exactly what type of a world he's about to step into.

Wendy walks ahead of him, stepping into the gate and descending into it. Kyungsoo doesn't know what to expect when the edges of his boots touch the portal, but when nothing starts to burn and nothing starts to eat away at the leather, Kyungsoo takes his last breath of earth's atmosphere, and steps down into the portal.

It's humid, the air here, but very stagnant. He reaches out to touch the gray rock of the tunnel walls, but Irene snatches his hand away.

"Don't," she whispers. "Nothing here is without its corruption. Its soul." Just as her words bounce off the rocks, miasma begins to seep from between the cracks, and the air hazes with the deep red of it. Wendy's hair looks almost purple instead of blue ahead of him. Kyungsoo coughs.

"Stay as quiet as you can," Seulgi murmurs against the shell of his ear. "No where that is not your court is safe. All of us can feel you are not demon if we focus on you, and obviously you cannot be a queen. Don't draw attention." Kyungsoo nods. Though he is the head of their blood exchange, the one who commands the flow of blood between himself and his demons, right now, he is in their land under their care. He thinks it best to let them direct him as they feel necessary.

The ground beneath their feet is not paved, and the stones slip and slide around them as they walk. Irene winces with each loud smack of a loose stone against other rocks and the tunnel walls. "Don't be noticed," she's whispering to herself. "Don't be noticed."

It's a gamble for his demons to be here with him, Kyungsoo knows. They are not heading to their home court. That would mean Kyungsoo's immediate death to free his demons, and though they are loyal, their first loyalty is to their prince. The likelihood he would let Kyungsoo live is slim to none. If they are caught as tamed demons outside of their court, they will fight to the death to protect Kyungsoo. Their death would mean his own, and demons outside of his demons' home court have no qualms about killing demons with whom they do not share a prince.

"It'll be fine," Seulgi tells Irene, her hand rubbing softly down Kyungsoo's spine. He wonders if she's assuring herself or him.

"Almost there," Wendy announces ahead of them. She sounds forcefully cheery, but Kyungsoo appreciates her efforts. It's only another hundred steps or so before Wendy is halting again, her hands held up to a seemingly solid wall in front of her.

"I'm going to open this here," she announces. "Step back."

"Wait," Irene interrupts. "Where is 'here’?" Seulgi steps forward and presses her own hand against the wall, ducking her head. Extra noise fills Kyungsoo's ears, and he has to breathe through his nose to stop the vertigo from hearing through his own ears and one of his demon's.

"You won't be able to sense anything," Wendy says. "The Council isn't particularly fond of demons coming into our court without our permission." She grins and wiggles her fingers at them. "Luckily, I'm giving you permission. So no one should be going around actively sensing for demons or--" She pauses, glancing sideways at Kyungsoo. "Those who aren’t human."

"I'm human," he says, defensive.

"Yes," Wendy agrees. "But an odd one."

She places her hands flat against the wall then.

"The council," she continues. "Is comprised of seven queens. One of which is the creator of your demons. Don't feel alarmed if you start feeling uneasy because they can sense her. Demons can freely feel here in our home land. Your blood exchange will probably feel stronger than it ever has."

"So my father--" Kyungsoo starts.

"There is a reason Lord Minseok is addicted to taming princes," Wendy says immediately. "Because a blood exchange with a prince is far more intense. Far more damning for human souls. After being on our home plane, he must miss that feeling, especially considering who he originally intended to claim."

Kyungsoo blinks and opens his mouth, but it's Seulgi who asks, "Who was that?" Her tone carries the same cadence with which Kyungsoo would have phrased the question, and he realizes how easily he can hear their thoughts and feel their heart beats as if they were inside his own body.

Stronger blood exchange, indeed.

Wendy traces out the shape of a large circle with her fingers against the stone, and presses. Just as it falls away to reveal Hell, she whispers the answer. "The Demon King, of course."

Kyungsoo freezes. The Demon King is a legend. His demons have told him he hasn’t been around for centuries at this point. Kyungsoo, even if his father is hundreds of years old, hadn’t realized Minseok has been around since the Demon King disappeared from the Hell plane. According to his demons, no one knows where he is or who is to blame for his disappearance. 

“Come on,” Wendy urges. “Into a new world.” Kyungsoo shakes his head to clear it and steps out into the death of his mortality. 

The Hell plane is nothing like how it has been described to Kyungsoo since he first started training to become a Watcher ninety years ago. His textbooks and mentors described the place to him as barren, empty, and ruthless. They described it as a place full of burning deserts, black skies, and a general sense of hopelessness that echoes in the air like the mourning wail of crows. Kyungsoo has never questioned how the authors of his textbooks and how his mentors would have known this when they've never seen the place in person. His father has never said any word about it to him, but Minseok has always been quiet in terms of personal affairs. Even his demons aren't particularly descriptive.

_It's home,_ they've always said, but physical descriptions of the place have never accompanied the words. Their lack of description somehow encouraged Kyungsoo to believe that all he had been told about Hell holds true--that it's entirely barren and a place he would never want to visit. As he stares around, he thinks maybe he shouldn't have feared this visit as much as he had. 

For all the deserts Kyungsoo had imagined, there is something about the land he stands on now that refutes it. Hell is like a negative of the Earth plane, carrying a distinct beauty and calm that almost encourages comfort to bloom in Kyungsoo's heart.

Irene squeezes Kyungsoo's hand. "Come," she speaks softly, the echo of her voice sounds much more natural in the flat landscape. Kyungsoo steps out of the tunnel and onto burnt orange grass, the blades appearing like little tongues of flame of Hellfire licking at his leather boots.

"This is home," Seulgi says, spreading her arms to showcase the land. Her fingers seem to scrape over the mountains and cliffs Kyungsoo can see rising from flame coloured water in the distance. Kyungsoo surveys it all in interest, taking in the red sky, the black clouds. Silver rocks gleam under a purple sun that peeks out from the lightest of clouds.

"At night," Seulgi continues. "It almost looks like your night sky. We have no moon, but our second sun is silver." She points towards the darkest portion of the clouds, and just beyond, Kyungsoo sees silver rays falling over the cliff faces. The ocean splashes up, and the water appears navy under the silver for just a moment.

"Our home is that way," Irene adds, pointing off into the other direction. Just over the horizon, Kyungsoo can make out the spires of a castle poking through the black clouds. "It's beautiful," Irene breathes as if it's her first time seeing it. Kyungsoo feels her nostalgia, her relief at being able to see her home strong in his chest. Her smile is gentle and pleased.

"We'll go there next," Wendy promises. Kyungsoo jolts. He'd almost forgotten the Hell queen is with them. "Our prince left early this morning, and we haven't felt him return." She glances at Kyungsoo's demons.

"I can't sense him here," Seulgi confirms. Irene glances at her.

“Earlier,” she says gently, and Seulgi cuts her off with a sharp shake of her head.

Wendy continues on. "After the Council leaves for their courts, we'll be able to leave this area and head for our court." She waves a little frantically. "Come, we should head inside. The council is less likely to sense someone within the walls than outside of them." Kyungsoo murmurs his agreement, turning with his demons to follow Wendy to the small fortress that makes up the home of the Hell queens' council.

"Why is that?" he asks.

"Why would they sense you out here instead of inside?" Wendy asks from ahead of him. She doesn't turn back to confirm she's understood before she's already explaining. "No one can enter this fortress without the permission of a Hell queen. As a future member of this council, I'm granting you all permission." The fortress, Kyungsoo notes, has no doors, no clear point of entry.

"Anywhere can be a door," Irene explains to his unasked question. He glances over at her as Wendy steps up to the stone, pressing her hands against it and muttering a few words under her breath. "Just like the Hell gates, you just have to know the right words." Wendy's hands and face glow in the light seeping between the cracks in the stone of the fortress. Like watching pixelation in video games spread out over the screen, the stone shatters into pieces and spreads out, opening an archway only just wide enough and tall enough for them all to enter. 

"Stay quiet," Wendy orders. "My rooms are past the main council chamber. We'll have to pass by there." 

"We could have entered from somewhere else," Seulgi hisses, flicking her tail irritably as the stone realigns itself, fortifying the wall again. There's a moment of pitch blackness before the corridor lights up, fire in a range of colours flaring up in the torches lining the wall. 

"If we had stayed outside a moment longer, we probably would have been caught," Wendy snaps back at her, voice quiet but rough in her throat. "I can't risk that happening." 

"I appreciate it," Kyungsoo cuts in before his demon can say anything else in rebuttal. Irene wraps her arms around Seulgi's waist, pressing a kiss against the back of her neck and murmuring sweet words that resound in Kyungsoo's head. The blood exchange thrums under his skin.

"There are clothes I grabbed from our court just around the corner here," Wendy says, grabbing onto Kyungsoo's wrist and dragging them down the hall. "Your human attire isn't exactly inconspicuous here." Irene and Seulgi both let out excited gasps, and Kyungsoo has the time to roll his eyes before the two of them have yanked their t-shirts over their heads, sprinting around the corner.

"Wendy!" Irene calls back to them. "You didn't!" Mirth and worry flash through Kyungsoo's head. He stumbles, but the Hell queen keeps tugging him right along. 

"What else did you expect me to do?" Wendy says when they round the corner. Kyungsoo's demons are both already in silk dresses, the red and silver draping over their shoulders. They look more relaxed with just this. They hold out their t-shirts and jeans.

"Burn these," Seulgi commands, and Irene giggles beside her. Wendy snorts, but with a flare of blue fire, the fabric fades to nothing but ashes. "My Tamer," she continues, handing Kyungsoo a folded set of clothes. "Don't argue, and put these on."

Irene keeps her hand pressed over her mouth, muffling her giggles. 

"These are articles of creatures' clothing," Wendy explains as Kyungsoo unfolds a torn and trailing cloak and a ragged shirt that reminds him of something from the seventeenth century. "Men aren't particularly common in a court of hell queens," Wendy tells him. "But many hell queens keep their creatures here, so hopefully no one will give you a second glance in these." The pants look close enough to dress pants from Earth, and Kyungsoo focuses on that as he struggles out of his shirt, turning a blind eye to each article of clothing he removes going up in flames.

"Are there shoes?" Kyungsoo asks expectantly. Seulgi and Irene shake their heads.

"Sorry," Wendy says. "Creatures don't usually wear shoes. They're the least like humans of all the species here. Demons are terrible, bloodthirsty, the children of my people, but creatures are nothing but raw intent for death and destruction." She looks mildly disturbed by her own explanation, and Kyungsoo can't bring himself to ask anything else.

"Take your shoes off, Kyungsoo," Irene urges, and Kyungsoo is reluctant but compliant. He watches his most loved pair of boots disappear into ashes.

“You both need to be careful too,” Wendy adds, looking seriously at Irene and Seulgi. “Demons are never seen here, and if they are, they’re captured tamed demons. Brought here for death in order to end the Tamer.” Seulgi nods solemnly, and Irene squeezes Kyungsoo’s upper arm.

"Follow me," Wendy murmurs, and she takes off at a quick walk. The corridors are winding and long, and Kyungsoo has no idea how far they've walked, but his feet are starting to tear and bleed on the jagged stones making up the flooring of the castle.

Wendy leads them out into an open area, the floor tiled mosaic that gleans in the multitone torchlight. She motions frantically behind her, a finger pressed to her lips. Irene and Seulgi's footsteps seem to disappear from behind him, and Kyungsoo glances back to watch them standing on their toes, pads of their feet absorbing the sound. He stands himself on tiptoe too, and Wendy gives them all an approving once over. She starts humming softly, and steps forward, beckoning them to follow her. 

The ceiling is high, vaulted, and Wendy's low notes reverberate in the room, covering the sounds of Kyungsoo's breathing. The patterns drawn into the ceiling point down to indicate a large set of double doors. Ornately carved and decorated with gold and gems, the wood is darkly stained and ornately carved with letters that Kyungsoo cannot read. Fit into the engravings are gold and gems. Energy reminiscent of Wendy’s but far more malevolent seeps from underneath the doors, and Wendy gestures towards them.

“The council is in session,” she mouths. Kyungsoo’s heart begins to pound. His demons grip his hands tightly, and he feels encouragement, nervousness, and fierce protective instinct flowing through him, bouncing back and forth between the two.

_Thank you,_ he thinks hard, and their answering smiles tell him they understand. The doors of to the main council chamber remain shut as they walk past, and relief nearly bowls Kyungsoo over when they round the corner and head into another corridor.

"My room is here," Wendy whispers, pressing her hand against a seemingly blank wall. _"Open,_ " she says softly, and Kyungsoo is reminded of Tamers calling their demons. He wonders if perhaps the words Hell queens use for their magic has somehow influenced the words that Tamers use. After all, Hell queens are the original species in charge of demons-- they created them.

Wendy's room is sparsely decorated, and she laughs at Irene's disappointment. "I spend most of my time in our court," she says. "This is only a base for me. I spread my loyalty between our prince and Gatewatchers. The loyalty I pledge here is all a show. A ploy for the great wealth of information these hell queens can give me which I then give to you." She plops down on her bed, gesturing to the space beside her and the two chairs beside a small table, offering them seats.

"We'll wait out the council session," she tells them. "Then we will head out to our court." She grins at Kyungsoo. "I don't know how intensely you need to breathe the miasma, but don't worry. I'll make an immortal out of you, yet."

"I already feel strange," Kyungsoo admits. Irene and Seulgi look at him immediately with concern. "Oddly sticky."

Irene pokes him. "You don't feel sticky," she says. She blinks then. "The blood exchange though--"

"It feels stronger," Seulgi butts in.

"I said the atmosphere here already makes that type of feeling stronger," Wendy reminds them, but Seulgi is already shaking her head.

"No, _that_ I recognized in the gate down," she says. "But now it feels like what was formerly a rock is now a diamond. The strength of the bond itself is tighter." She glances at her partner.

"Don't you agree?"

Irene nods, and Kyungsoo catches himself nodding along too. "I think it's already taking hold of me," he tells the hell queen. "The immortality."

"I would be surprised if it hadn't," Wendy says. "You're already a century old and look twenty. It shouldn't take much for your body to adjust." Kyungsoo hopes that's the case. Sitting here in the quiet of Wendy's room is giving his a nervous tick, making him realize just how anxious he is just being here.

"Calm," Irene soothes, getting up to stand in front of Kyungsoo after a few minutes of him coughing and trying to hide his agitation. She settles her hands along his jaw, warmth keeping him focused. "We're all alright here, as Wendy promised."

Kyungsoo grips her wrists, an anchor. _I know,_ he wants to say.

A slam and a scream tears down the hallway, shattering through the stones the quiet of the room. Wendy jolts, her face colouring green immediately. Irene bolts up straight, and Seulgi is next to her and Kyungsoo in an instant.

"There's no way," Wendy breathes, and she teeters. She looks like she's on the verge of throwing up. "Stay here," she orders before she's pressing her hands up against the wall and bursting through. The stones seem to slam closed, bouncing back open and leaving behind a gap just wide enough to squeeze through. The ring of the rocks colliding sends apprehension rolling down Kyungsoo's back in cold sweat.

He looks to him demons to answers, but both of them are shaking their heads. "I don't know what, Tamer," Seulgi admits. "But something here is very, very wrong." They stand, the three of them, together, their bodies tensed and senses on high alert. Malice is faint in the flavour of the air.

The seconds tick by with excruciating silence broken only by the hum of the blood exchange in their ears, and Kyungsoo watches Irene nervously release and retract her claws over and over again. Seulgi’s tail is wrapped around his waist, and Kyungsoo holds perfectly still, convinced his breathing will set his demons off when they’re this on edge.

Another screams rips down the hall, and all of them scramble to get closer to the grab in the stones in the wall. They all know the owner of that voice: Wendy.

Kyungsoo is moving forward, breaking away from the strong grip of his demons before he can stop himself. A sharp cackle that tints the air the flavour of pain smacks off the stone walls and into Kyungsoo’s ears.

“Stay here,” Kyungsoo orders Seulgi and Irene, squeezing himself through the cracks of the wall left behind in Wendy’s haste.

“Tamer--” Irene gasps out, grabbing for him. Desperation and fear of the unknown glow in her eyes. Hesitation at his demon’s uncharacteristic behaviour and obvious uncertainty slams into Kyungsoo’s chest. He takes in a deep breath, and the miasma tastes powerful, dangerous, on his tongue.

“If you die--” Seulgi starts, hands twisting in the folds of her dress.

“If I die,” Kyungsoo cuts her off. “Then I simply wasn’t strong enough to protect you both. And you both will survive.”

“It’s our job to protect you!” Seulgi nearly shouts, swallowing hard as her voice rings too loudly. The echo is tangible against Kyungsoo’s skin.

“We don’t know know what happening out there,” Kyungsoo tells her, keeping his voice stern. “You heard what Wendy said--”

“Demons are only brought here to die,” Seulgi agrees. “And you can be certain that any Tamers won’t be left alive. There are no allegiances to courts here. If they’ll kill demons just to kill Tamers, do you think they won’t kill you, a Tamer, once you’re in their grasp?” She pants hard, fangs showing in her mouth from agitation.

“This blood exchange has been going on for a long time,” Kyungsoo whispers. “We take care of each other.”

“You shouldn’t care for us as much as you do,” Irene says, her tears stinging in Kyungsoo’s eyes. He blinks them back, holding onto the jagged edges of the torn stone for support from the tidal wave of emotion threatening to bowl him over. She’s right; he shouldn’t care as much as he does, but after over eighty years together, feelings like ‘caring’ are impossible to avoid. Fear takes its time consuming them all, and still Kyungsoo reaches back, brushing a thumb over Irene’s cheek.

“I’ll be fine,” he promises, and he watches Irene collapse against Seulgi. The other demon’s glare says ‘come back.’ Kyungsoo promises to with his answering stare before he turns and runs down the hall, heading back for the council’s main chamber. 

The air seems tinged with red, and Kyungsoo's eyes are still stinging. It could be an after effect of the miasma, but it could also be his demons’ emotions flooding him. He picks out fear and worry, apprehension and willingness to fight alongside him in the turmoil in his chest. Their _care_ tears through his heart and holds him hostage.

He worries for them. It's a bit reckless, taking off in the land of demons by himself to confront a power that is yet unknown to him, but there if someone must die, it might as well be him. If his demons die, he will too. There is no point in three lives being lost when there is only need to put his own in danger.

Kyungsoo skids around the corner, and the straps of the knife holsters on his thighs burn against his skin with the friction. The council door is ajar, and Kyungsoo hesitates not even a moment before he flings himself inside. The doors slam against the wall, and Kyungsoo stops.

The room consists of seven ornate thrones settled around a long table. Coating the surface of the table is blood, red leaking from the occupants of the seats, their necks cut open, eyes still open wide in shock. No one else is in the room, no trace of Wendy to be seen. The queen at the head of the table, her dark hair falling over blood red lips, a trickle rolling down her chin, coughs slightly.

"Come," she wheezes. The curtain of dark hair falls to the side, and Kyungsoo can see the deep bruising on her neck. Her windpipe is halfway to crushed.

Kyungsoo jumps forward into action, moving towards her. As he rounds the table, he sees her hand pressed over a deep gash in her abdomen, the edges of her stomach peeking out through the torn skin. Her blood is more black than red, soaking through the front of her dress and covering her lap in gore.

"You're not demon," the queen whispers, body shuddering with the effort to talk. "You're not creature either. Even with this." She reaches out to pluck at the cloak draped over Kyungsoo's shoulder. "You don't belong here."

"Who did this?" Kyungsoo demands. "What is happened here?"

The queen gurgles, blood bubbling in her throat, and Kyungsoo supposes she could have a rather beautiful face if it wasn't coated in streaks of black blood.

"The Court of Two Queens knows no mercy," she tells him. Her grip on his cloak becomes a vice, and Kyungsoo, unprepared, is dragged down to her level, head tilted to face her. "Their creatures are here to destroy us, and they will destroy the Tamers too. Your precious earth plane is doomed." Her grip weakens with her words, and she slumps forward. Kyungsoo's eyes widen, and he grabs onto her.

"What are they planning?" He asks. "What are they going to--" The queen gurgles again, and she says nothing more, her head falling to the side, her body going limp as death takes her over.

"What are we going to do?" A new voice, one that feels like velvet dragged over thorns, enters the room. Kyungsoo spins on his heel. Standing at the entrance to the chamber is what appears to be a demon. A female stands to his side, matching the first in her dark demeanor. Both of them are devastatingly beautiful, but their teeth are all pointed as they grin with satisfaction at the sight before them.

"Do you see this?" The male asks, the dips of his chest and stomach filled in with the same dark blood of the queens. He appears unharmed though. He and his companion both appear unharmed and both appear pleased, bearing grins of jagged teeth as they survey the destruction. "The queen's council was never strong enough to last, you see. To which of them do you belong?"

Kyungsoo blinks. He doesn't belong to any of them.

"Oh, I see," the male continues. "You look like one of us, dressed like that, but I see now. You're not even demon. And if you're not demon, not Hell queen, nor creature, then you are human." He eyes flash black, and his skin seems to ripple with the knowledge. "Tamer, judging by the markings on the backs of your hands."

Kyungsoo resists the urge to hide his hands behind his back. It's too late, and there's no reason to show fear, to show weakness.

"Are you from the Court of Two Queens?" Kyungsoo asks. The male laughs.

"I work for no one but the highest bidder," he cackles. "The two queens can create all the creatures they want, but we don't belong to them. We only work for whoever will give us the most souls." In a flash, the creature is pressed up against Kyungsoo, and his fingers are pressed into his belly, a warning. "Souls are the most delicious, the only currency that matters in this land." He smiles, and Kyungsoo can smell death and malice on his breath. A moment later, he's gone, back beside the female creature, and Kyungsoo notes their lack of tails. They're not as powerful as demons, he guesses, but they're far more ruthless, far more interested in the world of killing, loose canons whose fighting he won't be able to predict. In their insanity, lies their strength.

"My name is Yixing," the male creature says. He strokes the back of his hand over his companion’s face. "This is Sulli. Isn't she lovely?" The creature is lovely, Kyungsoo can agree to that much, but the dark in her eyes, the way she regards him as a potential meal, causes bile to crawl up the back of his throat. He watches the way her body sways as she moves, like it doesn't know its own limits, like she has no concern with containing herself to one place.

Kyungsoo swallows hard. He knows nothing about these creatures. The first he's heard of them was Wendy's short explanation earlier. He's never seen them on the earth plane, and his father has never mentioned the existence of anything beyond humans, demons, and Hell queens.

"You look scared, Tamer," the creature says. "No need to be scared. Death is nothing to fear." He flashes forward again, holding out his hand.

"I introduced myself, Tamer," he practically purrs. His eyes are slitted. "What is your name?"

Kyungsoo shakes his head. The creature sighs. "No point in being nice to humans, the queens told me. I see they were right." He spins around to face Sulli.

"Call in Amber," he snaps. "She has something this little Tamer here wants to see." Sulli licks her lips and stretches a hand out of the door. She doesn't move from her spot, but her hand extends and keeps going, the limb stretching out of the room. The bend of her elbow seems to completely disappear. Kyungsoo breathes in through his nose to stop himself feeling sick. He didn't expect these creatures to have any abilities beyond their sharp teeth and wicked intellect, but here he is watching powers of the strangest sort right in front of him.

"Oh, finally," complains a gruff voice. "She's been a bitch to keep quiet." A third creature, presumably Amber, walks in backwards. Held in her hand is dark blue hair as she drags Wendy in behind her. Wendy's screaming is muffled, but Kyungsoo still hears it. These creatures are far more powerful than he had thought. Wendy isn't a council queen nor a queen of her own court, but she is powerful. Yet, there she is, on her knees, as this creature, Amber, drags her around like a rag doll.

"You're awfully quiet," Yixing continues. "Drop her, Amber. Let her go."

"Yeah, fine." Amber drops Wendy without care, and the Hell queen collapses on the ground with her shoulder taking the brunt of the fall. She coughs out half of a scream.

"We found this one walking into the chamber," Yixing narrates calmly, watching the Hell queen panting on the ground. "When she screamed with such intent, we knew she must be calling for someone. It took a moment, but you appeared." He claps his hands in delight. "Who knew we'd get to kill the queen's council and capture a Tamer today?" He cocks his head to the side. "And you're not just any Tamer, you know. Tamer's aren't allowed in Hell."

Wendy is shaking her head frantically. "Don't--" she manages, before Amber presses the heel of her bare foot against Wendy's neck, cutting her off.

"There's only one Tamer who has come down here with such heroic intent as yourself," Yixing tells Kyungsoo. He slings an arm over Sulli's shoulders.

"Tell me, Sulli. Who was that?"

"Hell reject!" Sulli laughs, cruel and high-pitched. The sound tears into Kyungsoo's ear, and he resists the urge to grab onto his head, to rub his temples, anything to make that sound bearable. Yixing smiles.

"That's right," he says. "The Lord Tamer himself." He rolls his eyes. "Lord Tamer. First Tamer. Both are ridiculous names. He was neither the first man to tame a demon, nor is he lord of anything but your failing organization."

"You know nothing," Kyungsoo spits, his careful hold on himself cracking. Wendy's eyes widen, shining with worry.

Yixing howls. "Don't I?" He throws out his arms. "Tamer, I play for the highest bidder. I need to know everything to know exactly who that is."

"Xing," Amber cuts in. "Just kill him." Yixing growls at her, his face turning into something of absolute terror. His teeth elongate, slicing through his lips as his eyes seem to bulge from their sockets. His skin wrinkles and peels back, showing black sinew beneath it. Kyungsoo has seen Night Hunt in full effect countless times, but never has he seen such monstrosity as Yixing's face in this moment. Even the low-level demons, their bodies twisted and morphed into things of nightmares, don't portray something so terrible.

"I will take him to the queens," Yixing says. "Who knows what they will give me for him."

"Us," Amber hisses. Yixing considers her.

"Perhaps," is all he says.

"You will take me nowhere," Kyungsoo cuts in. "Release Wendy."

He gets looks of confusion, and he stares pointedly at the Hell queen. Yixing seems to understand. "Let her up, Amber." It's a long moment as Kyungsoo watches the creature press her foot harder against Wendy's neck before she relents, releasing the Hell queen. Wendy scrambles up, tripping her way into Kyungsoo's arms.

"Are you alright?" he asks, supporting her weight as she struggles to breathe. 

“They killed Queen Victoria.” Wendy shakes in his grip. “They killed them all.” She blinks rapidly. “They’re going to kill us too.”

“Hey,” Kyungsoo says, sharp and clear. “Answer me. Are you alright?” The hell queen nods instead of any verbal response, rubbing a hand against her throat.

"She shouldn't be hurt too badly," Yixing assures, his voice cold, feeling like slime sliding down Kyungsoo's back. Kyungsoo pulls a hand away from Wendy’s arm, his hand slippery with her blood. Yixing rolls his eyes. “Too badly, I said. Not unhurt.” He glares at Amber.

“What?” the creature demands. “The bitch wouldn’t shut up.”

“Wendy listen to me,” Kyungsoo whispers quickly, lips right against the hell queen’s ear. “My demons are in your room. Send them back to the Earth plane, tell them to find Baekhyun.”

“Baekhyun?” Wendy asks. “The halfling?”

“Halfling?” Yixing cuts in. Kyungsoo ignores him.

“You told me your prince disappeared this morning, and there is only one new Tamer in Gatewatchers,” Kyungsoo explains as fast as he can. “Send them to him.” Wendy nods.

“Do you expect I’m going to let you go, Hell Queen?” Yixing calls to them.

“I’ll give you less than a second opening,” Kyungsoo promises. “Promise me. Keep my demons safe.”

“What about you?” Wendy asks, and hellfire is gathering on her hands. It swirls with a spark of magic, and Sulli is watching the Hell queen with interest. 

“My demons belong to your prince,” Kyungsoo whispers. “And he belongs to the Court of Two Queens. Hopefully, they can convince him to barter for my release.”

“Tamers are killed for a demon to gain freedom here,” Wendy hisses at him. “How do you know he won’t refuse their request? He’s the most powerful between him and Seulgi and Irene; he can--”

“I _don’t_ know,” Kyungsoo interrupts. “But there is no other option.” Wendy sucks in air between her teeth, but she’s turning hardened eyes on their opponents, ready for a fight. 

“You are so cute, Tamer,” Yixing crows. “Thinking a demon would possibly save you.”

“Shut up, and fight me,” Kyungsoo orders the creature. “I won’t be taken to your queens without one.” Yixing’s cackle is mixed with both Amber’s and Sulli’s, the sound cracking through the air. The miasma burns in Kyungsoo’s lungs, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He can feel the blood exchange surging to connect, and Irene and Seulgi are both restless, screaming questions for his safety in his mind. 

“You’re too much fun, Tamer,” Yixing grins. He snaps his fingers once, and that’s all the warning Kyungsoo gets. 

Kyungsoo snatches his knives from their holsters, twisting to the side as Yixing leaps at him. He intends to drag the edge of the blade down the side of the creature’s torso, but instead the blade digs into the flank of a chimera, and Kyungsoo yanks the blade free. He tumbles back, rolling over his shoulder across the table to catch his balance. The blood across the surface soaks into Kyungsoo’s cloak and shirt, and he yanks the cloak off.

Yixing, the chimera version of him, barrels across the table at Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo throws the cloak at him. It wraps around the chimera’s head, and Kyungsoo bolts for the other end off the room. 

Wendy is the middle of a raging fire, the flames shaping into daggers and arrows as she flings them at Amber and Sulli. The two female creatures cackle, and ice explodes from Amber’s fingertips, blocking the attacks. Sulli slinks in, her body expanding and bending at the oddest curves and angles to avoid Wendy’s attacks. Kyungsoo leaps forward, tackling Sulli down into the flames. 

“Go, now!” he screams, throwing one knife hard at Amber. It slices clean into her wrist, embedding itself in the bone, and she screams. Her lost concentration drops her own ice down on her shoulders, and blood seeps from the tears in her skin. Sulli writhes underneath Kyungsoo, and he presses his knees hard into her throat. She grins up at him, her body seeming to melt, and her eyes focus on a point past Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

He drops onto his back, kicking his feet up, but the weight of Yixing is too much, and he only just manages to keep the chimera off of him, its claws digging into the ground beside Kyungsoo’s head. Yixing roars, and Kyungsoo flips the knife into forward grip, stabbing upwards into the chimera’s throat. Yixing leaps to the side, and Kyungsoo scrambles to his feet.

It’s him versus the three creatures. He smirks, wiping blood from his mouth. Wendy is gone, and even though he’s down one knife, Kyungsoo can appreciate a small victory.

“Don’t lose concentration now,” he hears over his shoulder, and Kyungsoo turns just in time for Amber to sink his own knife deep into the flesh over his collarbone. Kyungsoo’s mouth gapes open, his body fighting for breath.

He swings out a fist, knuckles crashing hard across the creature’s jaw. She reels back, only for a weight to slam into Kyungsoo’s back. His knees his the ground first, and pain splinters up his legs as claws digs into his back. Sulli slithers up underneath him as he fights to hold himself off the ground, to throw Yixing off of him. She grins, and her long teeth appear luminescent green before she dips her head forward and digs her teeth into his neck. 

Kyungsoo’s muscles seize, tremors filled with agony spasming through him. He can’t get a scream out, but laughter fills the air around him. 

“Can’t move, Tamer?” Sulli hisses. The weight on Kyungsoo lessens, and knees dig into his hips instead of paws.

“Well done, Sulli,” Yixing growls. “This one is almost more trouble than he’s worth.”

“So I can kill him?” Amber spits, holding onto her wrist where it’s still seeping blood. Kyungsoo’s eyes feel heavy.

“We’re taking him to the queens,” Yixing orders. Amber groans, but Sulli saunters up to standing, her willowy body waving around with a pleased little smile on her face. Kyungsoo fights to breathe. Yixing grabs Kyungsoo’s wrist, yanking him up. Kyungsoo’s shoulder is wrenched from its socket. Kyungsoo’s silent scream meets pure malice on Yixing’s face.

“Come along, Tamer,” he says, dragging Kyungsoo forward through ice and blood--both his and the Hell queens’, not caring as he slams his head into the door frame of the council chamber’s entrance. “Let’s go see the Two Queens.”

Kyungsoo’s vision fogs, and he sends a prayer to someone, anyone, that Wendy has sent his demons to find their prince. Blackness creeps over him, and screams echo through his mind from miles and worlds away in Seulgi and Irene’s voices.

_Kyungsoo!_

“Hurry,” he whispers weakly through the blood in his mouth, and unconsciousness takes him into her arms.

***

Baekhyun sits behind Sehun, tracing his fingers over his markings on Sehun's back. It's strange to see something he's only ever managed glances at in the mirror directly in front of him. Sehun had grumbled about sitting still, about waiting for Baekhyun to look at the new decorations on his demon's skin, but when Baekhyun had pressed a hand to his stomach, his power over the blood exchange strong with their agreement running rampant between them, Sehun had given in.

Baekhyun stares at the mess of lightning bolts and rays of sun streaking through the feathers of his wing. He watches the shift of Sehun's shoulder blade when Sehun bends, Baekhyun's touch a little too ticklish or a little too strong. He presses power into Sehun's skin, makes the wing appear like it's getting ready to fly.

It's a stunning tattoo, beautiful--graceful, too. Baekhyun wonders just what it means.

"A storm," he whispers. Sehun glances at him over his shoulder.

"I didn't hear anything," he says. "Your sky looks clear."

"I meant on my marking," Baekhyun snaps at him. He trails his fingers over to Sehun's own markings where they curl over his shoulder and wrap down his arm. "This looks like a spiderweb here," he says, poking at Sehun's elbow.

"Markings carry traces of the queen who made the demon," Sehun tells him. He twists in his seat, holding out his arm for Baekhyun to see. "My queens carry affinities for spiders and snakes." He drags his fingers over the thickest band of marking that swirls over his wrist. His open palm is decorated with the hissing tongue of a snake. Baekhyun flips his own hand over, the mirror image of the snake impressed on his palm.

"Are there any Hell queens with an affinity for storms?" Baekhyun asks. "Or sunlight?" Sehun shakes his head.

"Eons ago, maybe," he admits. "But none during my time." Baekhyun slumps.

"What about birds? Or angels?" Sehun shakes his head again.

"Definitely not," he says. "Ravens or crows maybe, but angels? In Hell?" He snorts out a laugh. "There could never be magic based on something pure in my homeland." Baekhyun remembers the feeling of his demon side trying to claw through his own skin to tear apart anything that gets in his way, to rip through a human body and take its soul to taste it. He trusts what Sehun has told him, but still it doesn't stop the disappointment and curiosity from lancing through him.

"Stop," Sehun says suddenly, glaring at Baekhyun. The halfling recoils, shutting down his emotions. The blood exchange flares in protest.

"Go home then," Baekhyun suggests. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"Because this thing," Sehun snaps, grabbing Baekhyun's marked hand and holding it up against his own. "Makes my body ache when I'm not near you. Do you know what this feels like?" He's leaning in close again, and Baekhyun can't pull away, has to hold his ground just to make sure the demon can't take control of their blood exchange. He has to make sure Sehun knows that for all his power as a demon prince, he's the one who will listen to Baekhyun on the human plane.

"What does it feel like?" Baekhyun asks calmly. The blood exchange thrums, and Baekhyun tries to push it down again. Heat builds under his skin, a type of boiling that is reminiscent of anger, and Baekhyun wonders if the bond itself can be angered by his trying to calm it.

"It feels like an Eternity," Sehun answers. He stresses the last word.

"Forever?" Baekhyun sneers. Sehun shakes his head.

"No," he says. "An Eternity. It's the type of bond that two demons who choose each other make."

"Like wedding vows," Baekhyun supplies. Sehun's eyebrows scrunch together, uncertain, but he nods once Baekhyun opens his thoughts of what a wedding is for him to see.

"Like a romantic mating," Sehun says finally. "We call it an Eternity. Because that is how long we demons live, and so that is how long we plan to stay together." The information shouldn't be as shocking as it is. Baekhyun has been taught that demon princes keep hundreds concubines for themselves and their dukes, made from their many ranks of court members, so he had assumed that demons wouldn't stay faithful to only one other demon for an eternity. An Eternity, he corrects himself in his head. Sehun nods approvingly.

Demons are such loyal creatures though, Baekhyun knows. They never change courts, and they never abandon their royalty if it can be helped. If would make sense for them to hold the same belief with it comes to a partner.

"As long as the loyalty to one's prince comes first," Sehun clarifies. "Then I believe that demons should be allowed to create an Eternity together. I wouldn't want upset members of my court."

"Like a good king," Baekhyun muses.

"A prince," Sehun says shortly, stubbornly. Betrayal and anger surge through him, and Baekhyun almost regrets asking. "The Demon King is gone. None of us will ever replace him."

"Why not?" Baekhyun asks then. "A prince should succeed a king. Isn’t there a prince who can take the place of the old king? There are nearly a dozen princes!" Sehun rolls his shoulders back.

"Listen to me. Power cannot simply disappear," Sehun tells Baekhyun very seriously. "Power must always exist. Hell has never felt as powerful as it did when my brother was king. Ever since he disappeared, the power in Hell has been weakened. How do you think humans garnered the ability to subdue us? We're not at our strongest without him."

"Are you saying he's still alive?"

"I choose to believe that," Sehun admits very quietly. "I don't know where he is, and I don't know how he's stayed away without needing to come home for the miasma, but Hell is too weak with him gone. The power he possesses has never returned. It's the only thing that makes sense." Baekhyun stays quiet then. He wants to ask about how their blood exchange feels like an Eternity, and he wants to ask about if that makes him prince of Sehun's court by extension. He wonders if the blood exchange feeling like an Eternity has something to do with his demon side, or if Sehun simply doesn't know the difference. He can't actually bring himself to ask anything when such a hollow emptiness is washing over him, taking him apart as Sehun lets him drown in his raw emotion over the loss of his brother, the Demon King.

Baekhyun clears his throat.

"I'm--" he starts. Sehun cuts him off with a glance.

"Someone is coming," he says. Warning flashes through him, burning hot against Baekhyun's nerves. "I know this feeling. Demons."

Baekhyun brushes him off. "It's probably Kai or Chanyeol. Maybe Taehyung and Jimin--"

"No," Sehun cuts him off. He's standing, and Baekhyun, caught in the feelings rolling through him through Sehun, doesn't even see him move.

A loud knock sounds on the door.

"Baekhyun!" rings through the wood on a loud, desperate note. The halfling jumps to his feet, but his demon is already in front of his door yanking it open.

"Baek--My prince!" Sehun kneels immediately, and Seulgi and Irene fall into his arms, holding onto him tightly. Sehun strokes his hands through their hair, his fingers over the tips of their ears. They shake in his hold, and Baekhyun can feel their frantic heartbeats against his chest as if it were he holding them instead of his demon. The blood exchange murmurs gently in his ears.

"What is happening?" Sehun asks, and Baekhyun watches the markings on their arms flash red. So this, he realizes, is a contract between a prince and his duchesses. He hadn't realized Sehun is the prince of Kyungsoo's demons, but it makes sense when there are very few princes left untamed by the Lord Tamer. He remembers Seulgi and Irene's reactions just before he rounded the corner to see them with Kyungsoo before his taming was presented to the First Tamer.

_"He can’t be here!"_ Irene had said.

Only to be followed by Seulgi's rebuttal. _"It doesn’t feel entirely like him."_ They must have been sensing Sehun's blood under Baekhyun's skin. Contracts are the only bond that can rival a blood exchange in strength, except for perhaps this Eternity bond that Sehun has given barely any information about. Even with Kyungsoo's blood exchange with Irene and Seulgi running strong as it is, their bond with Sehun could be centuries older and just as, if not more, powerful.

Baekhyun shuts the door behind the two duchesses, standing awkwardly beside his demon as he holds Kyungsoo's demons close to himself. His hands settle at the backs of their necks, and the markings on their arms slow in their frantic blinking.

"My prince," Seulgi manages, her hand wrapped around Irene's as the other demoness presses the back of her other hand against her mouth to hide her distressed sobs. Baekhyun catches a glint of fully extended fangs between her fingers. "Our tamer--the two queens--"

"What have they done?" Sehun asks, his expression hard. "What has _he_ done?" For some reason, Baekhyun doesn't think Kyungsoo is the "he" to whom his demon is referring.

"Our Tamer was sent to our homeland to gain his immortality," Seulgi says, only hiccupping once through her explanation. "He was captured. Yixing has him."

"Fuck," Sehun swears. "What the fuck was that Hell reject thinking?" He clambers to his feet, drawing Seulgi and Irene up with him. "Why would he send someone else--!?"

"Prince Sehun, please!" Irene cries, and the demon prince pauses immediately in his ranting. "He is loyal to his father, just as we are loyal to you. Please--" She stops herself, breathing, wringing her hands. Seulgi's arms fall around her shoulders, holding her shaking partner upright.

"Tell me what happened," Sehun orders them, and Baekhyun can feel his power, the command he is used to having, filling the room. Baekhyun swallows, adjusting so he stands taller, maintaining his position as Tamer.

Irene blinks and meets Sehun's eyes. "My tamer was send to hell with us to protect him. Wendy--" She pauses here, and Sehun's eyes narrow, but he does nothing to stop her from recounting the events leading to this moment. "Wendy opened the gate for us." She pauses to breathe, and Seulgi presses a kiss to her temple.

"We were safe in Wendy's room when there was shouting," Irene continues. "Wendy went to investigate. Only then we heard her shouting too, and Kyungsoo went to find her."

"He ordered us to stay behind," Seulgi adds. "For our safety." Baekhyun blinks, and he watches relief, maybe gratitude, even, come over Sehun.

Irene nods. "Then Wendy is running back to us covered in blood and ordering us to find you and tell you that our Tamer has been captured, that he said you would save him if we asked. Please." Her voice becomes very small, echoing with a plea that pulls hard on Baekhyun's heart. Sehun, too, looks affected. "Yixing has taken him to your queens, and you know they will only do one thing to him. My prince, I'm begging." She stumbles forward out of Seulgi's grip, twisting her hands in hem of Sehun's pants. "Save him."

"What would you have me do?" Sehun asks her. "Go down and beg for his life? Do you really think my queens will send him back?" Irene bites her lip, and Seulgi casts her eyes on the floor. They both look so desolate, and sadness seers through Baekhyun.

"Kyungsoo is going to die," he whispers to himself, and he's surprised to hear just how his voice shakes, feel how his fangs threaten to drop from his gums as fear and emptiness drive a stake through his heart.

"Sehun," he starts. His demon sighs.

"Even if they release him--which they won't--there will be no way to bring him back to earth," Sehun says. He crouches and places his palms on either side of Irene's face. "My duchess, if there were something I could do for you, you know I would." The softness with which he speaks sparks shock in Baekhyun, and Sehun snaps his head up to meet Baekhyun's imploring gaze.

"What if I we," Baekhyun suggests slowly, thinking his words through. "What if we trade him for you?"

"Then my queens will know right away that I've been tamed," Sehun replies. "They'll have me killed right away simply to kill you--a Tamer strong enough to tame a prince."

"Would you be killed so easily?" Seulgi shouts, stamping her foot. "My prince, surely you have more strength than a couple of Hell queens!"

"I cannot fight alone against the entirety of their court!" Sehun roars back at her, and Baekhyun's markings spin with hellfire at his demon's outburst. Seulgi rears back instantly, holding on to her partner.

"Wendy said she would go to the Court of Two Queens," Seulgi hisses at her prince. "She is willing to risk her life to help you rescue our Tamer. She is only a courtless Hell queen, my prince!"

Irene stares at Sehun, opening her mouth, but Baekhyun steps forward, gripping Sehun's upper arm and turning him to face him.

"Sehun," Baekhyun begins. "I will order you if I must. Kyungsoo is my--he's my friend, and I can't let him be killed for _nothing._ "

"You should have told his father that before that Hell reject sent him to his death." But Sehun's voice is already softer, his body curving to match Baekhyun's as the blood exchange passes back and forth between them, gaining strength and momentum.

"Prince Sehun," Baekhyun asks, and he ignores how the title echoes even in his own voice. Sehun drops his head into a bow before Baekhyun can even say "please." The demon prince stares hard his tamer.

"I will try my best to get him out," Sehun promises. "I will take him to my court, and there Wendy can send him back to the earth plane." He turns and faces his duchesses. "We may face siege from my queens. I honestly do not doubt they will do anything to get him back or to punish me. I will need you there as I asked when we made our Contract."

"Yes," Seulgi says.

"My prince," Irene finishes.

Sehun nods to them, and they offer their arms immediately to Baekhyun. "You'll have to find him before you can send me down," Sehun explains. "The gates are dictated by the one who opens it." His stare, riddled with expectation, bores into Baekhyun. He shivers and releases his claws, raising the black tips over his demon's duchesses' arms.

It's easy to slash down, to draw a little bit of blood from them. It's not easy to find Kyungsoo's blood amidst their own, and it's harder still to close his eyes and let the blood on his fingertips drips onto his floor. He snags a claw in Sehun's wrist, drawing his demon's blood, and in Sehun's mind, the image of the Court of Two queens crashes into Baekhyun's mind. He breathes in the image of the court, of two thrones, and hellfire raging bright red everywhere. He grips Sehun's arm for support as he drips his blood to meets Seulgi and Irene's already on the floor.

"I found him," Baekhyun rasps out. He tangles his fingers with Sehun's for only a moment. "Prince Sehun," Baekhyun breathes, drawing upon the gates of Hell. _"Leave."_

The gate roars to life under Sehun and Baekhyun's feet, and Baekhyun jumps back, pulling Irene and Seulgi away from the gate with him. Irene and Seulgi still reach out a hand, grabbing for their prince.

"Thank you," Irene says.

"Hellfire be with you," Seulgi murmurs, and then the screeching of the iron gates whirls in the air. Baekhyun sees Sehun's gaze, hard set and firm as his markings burn on his back and arm, just before he steps into the gate and descends from the Earth plane.

"He'll be alright," Irene whispers. Baekhyun isn't sure if she's talking about Sehun or Kyungsoo, if she's assuring herself or if she's trying to convince Baekhyun. He grits his teeth and holds the gate open, peering over it, praying to somehow see his demon return to him. Or else his corpse will take the plunge into Hell, and Kyungsoo will be killed with Baekhyun and his demon's dead bodies beside him.

Irene and Seulgi's hands land on his shoulders.

"Close the gate, Baekhyun," Irene urges. Baekhyun shakes his head.

"I can still feel him this way," Baekhyun says even as he lets the gates slowly shut under Kyungsoo’s demons’ insistence, and he wonders when, in the span of three days since he tamed Sehun, he started to allow himself to care.

Irene settles on her knees beside Baekhyun, careful to keep herself clear of the closing gates.

“Thank you,” she whispers when the miasma no longer swirls on the floor of Baekhyun’s room. Baekhyun turns to look at her.

“I haven’t done anything,” he protests. Irene grabs his hands, drawing them into her lap. The angle is awkward, but Baekhyun can’t bring himself to pull his hands away. He can feel comfort and warmth in the demon’s touch, and Seulgi settling behind him, smoothing her hands over his jacket, feels like welcome relief. He sags against Irene, his head falling on her shoulder.

“You convinced my prince to save our Tamer,” Seulgi murmurs, her gentle hands soothing as they run in circles over his back. “He wouldn’t have gone if only we had asked.”

“He would have,” Baekhyun tries, but he can feel Irene shaking her head, her delicate jaw brushing against his hair.

“Demon Prince Sehun will do anything to protect his court,” Irene tells him. “But a Tamer is a potential threat to the power of his court, and not a member of his court, besides.” She angles her large eyes on Baekhyun’s face. “Trust me, halfling. He would not have gone if you hadn’t asked.”

“Commanded, more like,” Seulgi says, but her voice rings with approval. She adds quietly, “Thank you from me as well.”

Seeing nothing else to say and having no other arguments against the two demons’ conviction, Baekhyun simply offers them, “You’re welcome.” Seulgi and Irene hum, pleased, linking their fingers over Baekhyun’s knee.

He whispers to them some of the sensation he registers from Sehun coming through the blood exchange.

“He found him,” Baekhyun nearly snarls when the image of Kyungsoo kneeling in the middle of dozens of cackling faces reaches him.

“Is he alright?” Irene asks.

Baekhyun shakes his head. “Bloody,” he says. Irene hums a little terrified note, and she and Seulgi curl in closer to Baekhyun.

He doesn’t know how long they sit like that, tangled together. The embrace is half comforting and half restraining, but Baekhyun welcomes it. It’s safe enough and warm enough that Baekhyun feels tiredness overwhelm him. His eyelids are heavy with the exhaustion a day spent securing his blood exchange and escaping the Lord Tamer’s attempt to kill him. He’s about to drift off to Seulgi’s ministrations on his back when he feels a sharp prick of pain in his shoulder. 

He jerks up. The pain pricks him again, sharper this time. The blood exchange screams to life in his veins.

“Baekhyun?” Seulgi questions, and Baekhyun turns wildly to look at her. The blood exchange is singing a song of calling, and Baekhyun doesn’t know how to answer.

“Did you open a gate?” Irene asks slowly, and Baekhyun follows the demon’s gaze down to his feet where the beginnings of a portal are beginning to spin. A jolt shoves Baekhyun forward, and the pain flares up in a distinct pattern across Baekhyun’s shoulder. Hellfire burns against his shoulder blade, and Baekhyun feels as if his own body is trying to pull itself out of his skin.

It’s Baekhyun’s wing that’s burning bright, urging Baekhyun towards the gate. The Hell gate opens the slightest bit more, and Sehun’s call for help seems to bounce right through it, pounding in Baekhyun’s ears and chest.

“He wants me,” he gasps out. The shoulder of his jacket is starting to burn and peel away with Baekhyun’s markings seering against his shoulder.

“He can’t--” Irene starts.

“Demons don’t call Tamers,” Seulgi says. Her voice is shaky, and she grabs for Irene with one hand and Baekhyun’s arm with the other. Irene’s opposite hand settles on Baekhyun’s chest.

“You can say no to him,” Seulgi urges quietly, staring at Baekhyun. “I don’t know how he’s calling you, but--”

“But he wants me to go to him,” Baekhyun interrupts. Confusion and fear, both his and Sehun’s, are caught in his mind. Baekhyun doesn’t think Sehun even knows he’s calling him. 

“Listen to me, Baekhyun,” Irene soothes, her fingers splayed over his heart. “This portal is not going to open enough for you.” She doesn’t need to say anything else for Baekhyun to understand. He snaps his teeth in one wrist, and the gate flashes with greed for blood.

“ _Open,_ ” Baekhyun speaks. His voice shakes with the tremors of pain that race over the lines of the markings on his back. A world apart, Baekhyun aches to close the distance between him and his demon. He can feel the separation acutely, feel exactly how far he needs to travel to reach him. The Hell gate spreads wide to welcome him.

Baekhyun bites his lip. Hell’s miasma could tear him apart, could kill his human side, could make him immortal as it did with the Lord Tamer. Hell itself could welcome him so fully he can never leave. Sehun could claim him as his in a world where Baekhyun has no power or place. Humans are not meant to enter Hell, but Baekhyun has never truly been human.

Sehun’s desperate voice rings ragged in Baekhyun’s ears.

“How is he calling you?” Seulgi asks. She sounds just as confused as Baekhyun feels, but the pain doesn’t give Baekhyun time to dwell on it. His body crawls of its own accord towards the portal, feeling the sharp jabs in his shoulder lessen as he moves to answer the call.

Is this how demons feel when Tamers summon them?

Irene grabs his shoulder. “Whatever you do,” she warns. “Stay close to my prince.” Baekhyun closes his hand over hers, torn between shoving it away and using her grip to pull himself away from the hellgate. Seulgi reaches for Irene’s hand and makes the decision for him.

“Everything will be alright,” she says.

“You’ll be okay, halfling,” Irene adds. The hellfire roars from the gate, and Baekhyun tumbles down head first to answer his demon’s call.

***

The gates of Hell deposit Sehun just outside of the doors that lead to the throne room of his queens' court. He's stood here many times before, heard the ruckus of those inside as they cheer for their queens and cheer for the prince they know stands just outside the doors. This time, they don't know that Sehun stands outside the doors, but the roar from inside is as loud as it has ever been. The screams for blood and death call to Sehun like a siren's song, and he swallows hard.

He not here for blood, nor is he here for death. He's here for his demons and for his Tamer. He is here to save a man whose life is connected to two of his most trusted duchesses. Innocent souls never taste as good as those filled with corruption, anyway.

The demon prince breathes in the miasma, places his hands on either side of the courtroom doors, and presses forward. The doors slam against the walls on either side of him as Sehun strides in, and the buzz of the room quiets, the cheers dying out as all members of the two queens' court turn to face Sehun.

He walks forward, tap of his shoes on the marble floor the only accompaniment to his presence. He stares down his nose at the low-levels scattered around the small figure hunched in the middle of the room. Blood has completely soaked through his shirt, and his bare feet are cut along the toes and soft soles, smearing blood across the marble floor. His height and slim stature remind Sehun of the man who came before him, the man his brother rejected, but he reeks of desperation, fear, and none of the desire, misplaced sense of love, and thirst for power that dragged Minseok down to this world.

Sehun stops just behind Kyungsoo, bending to his queens. They regard him calmly, black hair stark against pale skin. Queen Krystal's yellow eyes glow under the torchlight, and the purple of Queen Jessica's is shrouded under her bangs.

"My darling prince," Queen Jessica cries, standing from her throne. Her long skirts flare out behind her, the webs of lace shedding her energy in the shape of spiders as she moves to walk towards her demon. "My dearest Prince Sehun," she coos. "We've missed you. We haven't seen you here in a few days."

"You mustn't stay away so long, my prince," Queen Krystal adds from her throne. She runs a finger across her bottom lip. "Especially after a Night Hunt. We feared you had been Tamed." She laughs. "Not that it's possible with how strong we made you." Sehun forces himself to not react, stepping forward to stand directly beside Kyungsoo. He kneels next to him, digging his fingers into his hair and wrenching his head back.

"And just who is this?" Sehun asks, glancing up at his queens. He makes sure to keep his expression interested, hungry for a soul, even as he feels Baekhyun's displeasure at the image of Kyungsoo's lips smeared with blood in Sehun's mind.

"Minseok's son has come to visit us," Queen Jessica tells him. Her voice is light, mirth palpable. "He won't tell us his name," she sighs. "Such a pity." She flicks a finger, and one of the low-levels flies from its place among the ranks of demons in the room, slashing its long, jagged teeth down Kyungsoo's back. The Tamer grits his teeth, a grunt of pain escaping him.

"He's obviously no fun for torture," Sehun says casually. He wipes his hand over Kyungsoo's face, cleaning away some of the blood. "And his knowledge." He pauses to laugh, loud and harsh in the court room. "He can't even tell you his name. He's probably quite dumb."

"He's human, my dear prince," Queen Jessica crows. "Of course he is!" Raucous laughter fills the air around the room.

"Despite that," Queen Krystal continues on. "There's no way he doesn't know the names of his demon." She smiles brightly. “Tell me the name of your demon, Tamer.” Sehun rattles Kyungsoo as if trying to startle the answer from him, but when Kyungsoo glares at him, preparing to spit at him, Sehun shakes his head once. Kyungsoo freezes.

Queen Jessica sighs. She steps back to her throne, slumping on it. "Tear off his shirt, Prince Sehun, darling,” she drawls. “See if you recognize his tattoos."

Sehun leans down closer, fitting his hands in the hem of Kyungsoo’s shirt, preparing to tear. “I’m here to rescue you,” he whispers as quickly and quietly as he can over the sound of fabric tearing. He scrapes his claws over Kyungsoo's collarbones, drawing thin lines of blood. He feels a jolt in his chest, and he wonders if that's Baekhyun sensing that he's drawn blood from the man his Tamer addresses as a "friend."

"I don't know them," Sehun lies, standing and facing his queens. He holds up his hand to his mouth, giving a great show as he licks the blood from his fingers. "Delicious," he murmurs. Low-levels around him pant, taking timid steps toward him as if hoping he'll give them a taste. Sehun pops the next finger in his mouth and licks it clean. "Perhaps you'll give him to me, my queens?" he inquires. He tangles his fingers in Kyungsoo's hair, drags the back of his hands over the curve of Kyungsoo's jaw. "A pet?"

"He's a Tamer, Prince Sehun," Queen Krystal sniffs. "He's holding a demon, perhaps one of yours, hostage to his whims. Why would you want to keep him alive?"

"He has no way home," Sehun muses. "Even if he could summon a demon while on our world, no demon he could summon could best me, anyway." Sehun checks his claws, pressing the black tips ever so lightly against Kyungsoo's skin.

"Still, his death would be far more convenient," Queen Krystal says, stepping down from her throne. "My darling prince, your court is very powerful, but might I remind you whose court just eradicated the queens' council?" Cheers go up around them, and Sehun feigns surprise.

"The council," he murmurs. "So you've finally gone and taken them out." He grins and claps thrice. "And I assume that's where you found this Tamer." He turns, showing his back to his queens as he makes to examine Kyungsoo closer. "We're going to run," he hisses to the Tamer. "As soon as I make an opening. Wendy will meet us at my court, and from there we shall send you home."

"Thank you," Kyungsoo wheezes, his voice nothing more than a relieved sigh.

"Thank your demons," Sehun whispers. "And my Tamer. They are the ones who begged." Kyungsoo nods.

"Tell me of who carried out the deed for you, my queens," Sehun says. "And then allow me to take my pet home. He's even agreed to it." Sehun urges Kyungsoo to nod his head with his fingers gripping his chin tightly. “Give me just this one prize.” The demons around them laugh, calling the Tamer names like "coward" and "weak."

"Fine," Queen Krystal relents. "Take this thing out of my sight." She points at Kyungsoo, and another low-level dives from the ranks to swipe its claws down kyungsoo's side. Sehun grabs its wrist.

"My queens have given him to me now," Sehun growls low in his throat. "I don't want another mark on him." The low-level shrinks away immediately, head tucked and tail between his legs. Sehun glances up at his queens. Queen Jessica seems far more interested in laughing about their methods of torturing him and how he was brought here, encouraging demons around her to join in the mocking than watch the way Sehun has stopped a member of her court from harming the Tamer. Queen Krystal, however, is watching him now, eyes narrowed and suspicious. He snags his claws in the ropes tying Kyungsoo's wrists and ankles, standing and grabbing onto the Tamer's upper arms to help him stand. The Tamer wobbles, his eyelids fluttering.

"Yixing has always been the most fascinating Creature we've made, as you know, dear prince," Queen Jessica laughs, continuing over Sehun and Kyungsoo's short exchange. "The price was not low for that greedy creature, but I dare say it was well worth--"

"Prince Sehun," Queen Krystal cuts in, setting a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Do excuse my interruption, sister, but I simply must ask. My prince, just what is that on your back?" Sehun pauses in drawing Kyungsoo to his feet; the Tamer nearly drops back to his knees.

"Skin?" he offers, even as he knows exactly to what his queens are referring.

"There are markings on your back, my prince," Queen Krystal murmurs, stepping down with her magic flaring around her. Black hellfire, marked in yellow and gold in the patterns of poisonous snakes, flares up from underneath her dress. "Markings I have not seen before."

Sehun holds Kyungsoo against him as his queen approaches, gripping the markings on his arm and turning to press her hand against Baekhyun's wing where it stretches over his shoulder blade. It burns at the sudden contact, and Sehun hears Baekhyun's sharp intake of breath in his head. He grits his teeth.

"How could this have happened?" Queen Krystal asks. She presses a little harder, and Baekhyun's shout as her power seeps into the halfling's marking ends with a hiss through Sehun's teeth.

"My dear sister," Queen Jessica calls to Krystal, and suddenly the room is flooded with purple and yellow fire, dancing among the demons gathered there. They all shift, restless, and their queens call them to action. "You know exactly what this means."

"I find it strange," Queen Krystal confesses. Her slitted pupils bear into Sehun's, and he keeps his face carefully blank as she searches him. Demons are loyal creatures, would never betray their court and their prince by extension even if it means their own life. Hell queens, however, hold no such bonds to their subjects. "How could a Tamer place a mark on his demon when the demon is supposed to transfer his marks to the Tamer?"

Queen Jessica rolls her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, Queen Krystal," she says. "That halfling of Lord Minseok's has gotten a hold of him." She holds up a hand, calling her court demons to action. "Kill him."

Queen Krystal holds out her own hand to stop them. She steps back from Sehun, and he turns to face her, shifting Kyungsoo so he stands guarded by Sehun's back.

"This is your one chance to live, Prince Sehun," Queen Krystal murmurs, her yellow flames rising to mix with Jessica's purple. "Kill that Tamer."

It would be so easy, Sehun knows, to turn and snap Kyungsoo's neck, to tear his soul from his body and lick the residue of it from his fingers. Sehun also knows that his queen is lying to him. He's been tamed, and as powerful as he is, a Tamer who is strong enough to place a blood exchange on him cannot be allowed to live.

He's going to die unless he escapes, and he promised his duchesses--he promised Baekhyun--that he would get Kyungsoo free. He remembers Baekhyun’s threat of surviving even if Sehun were to be killed, and he takes some comfort in it.

The words are out before he can't stop them. "I won't."

The two queens freeze. "You won't?" Queen Krystal intones. She sighs, glancing over at her sister. Queen Jessica copies Krystal's sigh.

"In all my years holding court here," Queen Jessica says, collapsing back on her throne. She shadows her dark eyes with a hand, the hell fire licking up around her chair casting exaggerated light across her skin. "I never anticipated that I would have to order my court to kill one of my own. Such a treacherous prince."

The room rings with the spark of restlessness, the anticipation just before a fight, and Sehun's blood is starting to pound in his ears. He feels Baekhyun's worry streak through him, and he draws his marked arm close to his chest.

"Krystal, my darling queen," Queen Jessica calls to her sister. "Please give the order. This one is bothering me."

Queen Krystal drops her gaze to the floor, staring for only a moment. Sehun quickly takes three steps back towards the door, pushing Kyungsoo along. It's not easy; the Tamer is solid, body thick with muscle but woozy from blood loss. He stumbles, and Sehun grabs him, keeping him from hitting the floor. A quick glance at his thighs reveals his knives have been taken from him. He won't be able to rely on Kyungsoo to protect his back; he'll have to protect Kyungsoo.

"Members of the court," Queen Krystal orders, her voice suddenly darkly coloured. "Kill this traitor."

All eyes, gazes predatory, fangs gleaming and sharp claws screaming against the marble floor, turn to Sehun. He breathes.

"Stay behind me," Sehun tells Kyungsoo, and his queens release their magic.

The court, as one, moves to attack him. A low-level leaps from the fray, clawed hands and feet aimed at Sehun’s chest. Sehun twists, trapping Kyungsoo underneath him as he kicks out hard behind him. The low-level slams into the ring of demons pressing in around them, its neck snapped with the force of impact. Its claws only manage to snag the hem of Sehun’s pants.

They keep coming, demon after demon all flying at him. Every creature and demon in his queens’ court are all aiming for his death, for his heart, to tear it directly from his chest and take him apart until his body cannot simply put itself back together anymore. Sehun isn't scared of dying, but he's scared of letting down his court. He's scared of losing his court.

He's scared of Baekhyun dying, and that's not something he's supposed to feel. He should hate the Tamer, but the halfling--he needs him. He's part demon, and he belongs in Hell and in his court.

Sehun needs nothing more than to have the force that is Baekhyun standing right beside him, right now, fighting back these hoards of demons of magic. He has fought beside the Tamer only once and against him only once, and both times he has seen nothing but testaments to the halfling’s abilities.

_Baekhyun._

The name echoes in Sehun’s head as he slams a fist straight through a mid-level’s chest, flinging the body into his next attacker. The court is still swarming around him, pressing in on him as he fights to protect himself and Kyungsoo. The Tamer, woozy as he is, can do nothing but duck and weave from attacks, his fists too tired from bloodloss to leave any real impact. Sehun steps into the space Kyungsoo has just evacuated, and tears the head of a creature directly from its shoulders.

He turns to toss the head at his queens’ feet, and the moment of spite lands him with a low-level’s teeth buried in his shoulder, fangs digging into Baekhyun’s marking. Blood drips hot down his back as the demon shakes its head, teeth shredding through Sehun’s skin.

The blood exchange begins to reverberate in minor chords in Sehun’s ears. He flips himself forward, crushing the low-level under his weight and springing back to his feet to shelter Kyungsoo. He catches a glimpse of a blue flash in his peripheral vision, and he can just barely feel Baekhyun’s pain on top of his own from the fang-induced wounds over Baekhyun’s mark.

He shoves another demon away from Kyungsoo, and the Tamer pants, “Your mark is flashing.” He yanks Sehun to the side, out of the line of a mid-level’s attack. “Call him.”

The echo of the memory of pain in his arm, of Baekhyun’s voice reaching through the veil between the Earth plane and the Hell plane asking Sehun to come to him, whispers instructions in Sehun’s mind. He drags his claws down the distended belly of a creature. Acid bubbles out, and Sehun leaps back, dragging Kyungsoo with him.

The blood on his hand from the wound on his back drips onto the marble floor.

Sehun lashes out at another mid-level, tearing the jewelry from her ears and jabbing it into her eyes instead. She screams, and Sehun tears through her throat. Baekhyun’s pain sparks through Sehun’s body again, and a bit of blood from his back joins with the drops he’s already left on the marble floor.

The miasma in the room gathers, and the beginning of a gate spins at Sehun’s feet. Kyungsoo ducks under another attack, and slams the low-level into the ground. The sickening crack of its bones accompanies Kyungsoo’s shout.

“Call him!”

“Demons cannot call Tamers!” Queen Jessica’s voice carries over the mob of her court all fighting to get at Sehun. Queen Krystal stands at her side.

“We know nothing of this halfling,” she reminds her sister. Sehun finds within himself the gall to smirk at them.

“Demons do not call other demons either,” Queen Jessica argues. That’s enough to knock the smirk from Sehun’s face, but Kyungsoo’s hand is firm Sehun’s back as he fights feebly alongside him.

“Say his name,” he instructs. “Feel the blood exchange. And call for him.”

Sehun drags Kyungsoo out of the way of another attack. He steals himself.

“Baekhyun,” he says. A mid-level’s fist catches him off guard, and he stumbles. He wraps his tail around the offender’s neck, slinging him into a low-level. The gate spreads a little wider, and Baekhyun’s hesitance pops with the staccato beating of Sehun’s heart.

“Baekhyun,” Sehun repeats. He drops to the ground, rolling underneath a creature’s attack. He leaps up and slashes his claws through its neck. More of his blood splatters on the gate. He meets Kyungsoo’s eyes for a split second.

“ _Come!_ ”

The queens cackle with laughter. “See!” Queen Jessica shouts. “Nothing!” The creatures and demons of their court laugh too, and the attack pauses for only a moment. In that moment, Sehun hears Baekhyun’s command, soft and calm, over the gate. _Open._

The gate flares wide, and the demons all scramble back from it. Sehun drags a claw down his own markings this time, and his blood splatters freely over the gate. It picks up speed, spinning until a clear pathway is opened. The demons scream, and a few rush for the gate. The human world is on the other side of it, housing an unlimited number of souls.

Hellfire lashes out from the gate, throwing back those who dare to touch it. It’s the first time Sehun has seen hellfire burn demons, but the stench of blackened bodies fills the air, tinting the miamsa gray. The queens scream in outrage. Kyungsoo sags to his knees, his skin too pale. His lips and the ground around him are slick with blood.

The blood exchange sings loudly in Sehun’s blood, and he feels Baekhyun answering his call. With a shout, his hand extended over the gate, Sehun’s call his Tamer one more time.

“Baekhyun, _come!_ ”

The gate turns blue, the hellfire raging from it a bright cerulean that presses back the hoards of demons swarming towards him. Kyungsoo’s presence disappears in the flames, and a figure rises from the vortex. His fingers end in pointed claws and side profile shows his fangs. Relief floods Sehun as the flames blast out again, and Sehun squints bast the bright blue.

The flames swirl around the two of them, Baekhyun standing in front of Sehun in the middle of the Court of Two Queens. The blue hellfire is like a fortress, roaring its protection, and Sehun reaches for Baekhyun’s hand the moment the Tamer beckons.

Underneath the roar of the angered demons and creatures and queens and the snapping hellfire, Sehun hears Baekhyun’s one command as his fingers slip in between Sehun’s own. _”Connect.”_

Warmth and a sense of completion race through Sehun and Baekhyun, the feeling compounded and reflected between them. The markings on their arms and shoulders flare up brighter than the flames around them. Sehun’s open wounds close, and Baekhyun fangs drop lower and sharper than Sehun has ever seen them. The tips of his claws are solid black.

Somewhere in between the shock and delight, Sehun finds his voice. “Welcome to Hell, little Tamer.”

His voice glances off the circle of hellfire, and Baekhyun glances around at the court, his expression controlled as he takes in the screaming demons and the angered queens. His grip on Sehun’s hand is firm, the blood exchange pulsing between them, their hearts beating in sync.

“You called me,” Baekhyun says. He sounds uncertain, but over whether or not Sehun did call him or over the location he’s currently standing in, Sehun doesn’t know.

“I did,” he tells his Tamer, and the halfling nods.

“I didn’t know you--” he starts, and then shakes his head. “So _this_ is hell.”

“The Court of Two Queens,” Sehun clarifies. “They ordered my death.”

“I can see that,” Baekhyun deadpans, eyes shifting left and right over the hoards of demons attempting to swarm past the hellfire. They only ever step away burned, and Baekhyun bares his teeth, apparently pleased.

“I told you they would,” Sehun adds.

“Will you let them kill you?” Baekhyun asks. “Did you call me down to make sure your court has a new prince?” Sehun bares his teeth, and the flames flicker low enough for a low-level to jump clear over the wall of hellfire. Sehun’s eyes flicker up to it, and Baekhyun spins on his heel, arms up to block the attack.

The flames follow the directions of Baekhyun’s arms, and the low-level is half burned when he sinks onto Baekhyun’s outstretched claws. Sehun steps in, tearing the body from Baekhyun’s gore-covered hand and flinging it back outside of the fire.

It’s seamless. This is what Sehun needed: someone to fight beside him.

“I needed your help,” Sehun admits quietly even if it hadn’t taken much prodding from Baekhyun.

“So this,” Queen Krystal yells over the din of fighting and raging hellfire. “Is the halfling we’ve heard so much about.” Out of the corner of his eye, Sehun sees Baekhyun barely suppress a flinch. He can practically hear Baekhyun’s internal argument that he is more human than demon, and it unsettles Sehun’s stomach, reminding him that his Tamer is not, in fact, as demon as he comes across. Sehun grips Baekhyun’s wrist tightly in warning; Baekhyun’s mouth stays closed.

“He doesn’t look like much,” Queen Jessica mocks. Her eyes narrow on Sehun, flicking down the blood streaked lines of his chest and over the snakes and spiderwebs of his markings. “But he managed to tame our dearest prince.”

“And he snuck Minseok’s boy out,” Queen Krystal adds. Her eyes scan her court, panting demons tripping over their fallen brethren in their haste to try their hands at attacking Sehun and his Tamer. They all scream away from the ring of hellfire, flesh burned and smoking.

“Tell me, halfling,” Queen Jessica asks. “What is your name?” Sehun snaps his head right, warning Baekhyun not to speak. The Tamer nods ever so slightly.

“Does it matter?” Baekhyun answers her. “Knowing my name won’t stop you from killing me.” He bares his fangs. “If you can kill me.”

Purple magic flares from the Hell queen, long spider legs arching out over her throne. “This is the strongest court in this realm,” Queen Jessica sneers. “You won’t escape with your life.”

“I was told Prince Sehun is the strongest demon at present,” Baekhyun retorts. “And look how well he managed to defeat me.” Queen Jessica grimaces, and something akin to pride swells in Sehun’s chest beneath the need to quiet his Tamer.

Sehun whispers out of the corner of his mouth. “I’ve already destroyed much of their court.” He glances at Baekhyun. “Don’t anger them further.”

“You called me down here to stand and fight with you,” Baekhyun snaps at him under his breath. “They’re not going to let us waltz out.” His eyes flick over Queen Jessica where she stands with her chest heaving with rage at Baekhyun’s insolence. “Anger will make them sloppy,” Baekhyun adds. “It worked just as well on you.” Sehun forces himself not to hiss at his Tamer.

Queen Krystal’s hand settles on Jessica’s shoulder, her own magic flaring out from her. Beneath the calm face she’s wearing, Sehun can sense the malice in her magic. The yellow spreads out amidst the purple of her sister’s magic, cobras hissing over the click of spider fangs.

“Allow me to venture to say the prince underestimated you,” Queen Krystal says. Sehun clenches his fist. She’s not wrong. “Or that he was rather taken by you. Maybe he asked you to be _his_?” She laughs, a dainty little sound that grates on Sehun’s ears. His tail lashes behind him.

The queen narrows her eyes, raising her arms. Her magic arches high over the blue hellfire surrounding Sehun and his Tamer, yellow snakes poised to strike. Purple spiders crawl up their necks. “My sister and I will not make the same mistake.”

The sister Hell queens breathe out in unison, and the magic swarms forward. The hellfire swirls to meet it, burning away the malevolent energy. The blood exchange sings in Sehun’s head, and he turns immediately to stand back to back with Baekhyun. With the hellfire now preoccupied protecting them from the magic of the two Hell queens, the low-level and mid-level demons swarm forward again.

Baekhyun steps without hesitation into the fray, and Sehun follows, the black tips of his claws flashing alongside Baekhyun’s. The Tamer kicks left, throwing a low-level back towards Sehun. He tears into the demon and turns just in time to grab another before it can sink its teeth in the back of Baekhyun's neck.

"Thanks," Baekhyun breathes. Two demons leap up behind him.

"Behind you," Sehun warns. Baekhyun grabs his forearms.

"Throw me," he orders, and Sehun twists, swinging Baekhyun up through the force of his momentum. Sehun doesn't pause to watch Baekhyun kill the two low-levels in the air, but he feels their blood splatter down on his back at the same time as the blood of his mid-level opponent decorates his chest.

Baekhyun lands behind him, pressing his back to Sehun's. "You watch my back," he growls. Sehun feels the heat of other demons' blood on Baekhyun's claws in his own fingertips. "And I'll watch yours."

"I think we've already established I'm not particularly keen on you dying," Sehun grunts back at his Tamer, smashing his fist across a creature's face. Baekhyun's laugh send a pleased shiver down Sehun's spine.

Protecting Kyungsoo was like protecting his court by extension, but fighting alongside Baekhyun is like the recovery of a limb Sehun hadn’t known he’d lost. When he steps out, claws extended, Baekhyun steps in, covering his open side.

Sehun steps right, slamming his elbow down into the hollow of a mid-level’s throat. The demon stumbles back onto Baekhyun’s waiting claws.

“Am I supposed to allow any of these to live?” he calls, taking down a low-level with claws in its throat.

“If anyone doesn’t try to kill you,” Sehun shouts back. "It's because they've recognized they _can't._ His back collides with Baekhyun’s again, their marks pulsing in tandem. “Kill them anyway.” Baekhyun’s answering snarl rings in Sehun’s ears as he leaps again, tail choking one demon and fangs dug deep in the neck of another.

The blood exchange keeps singing as they fight, their energy feeding off one another. The copied markings on their arms are lit a consistent pale blue now, and Sehun feels unstoppable. He catches a glimpse of Baekhyun's grin and the feels the high to fight forever double in his gut.

_Eternity, indeed._

A creature's giant spiked fist comes flying towards Sehun, and he ducks. Baekhyun's hands land on his back, and Sehun braces himself as his Tamer vaults over the creature. His eyes look almost red as he drags his claws down the creature's back and rips its spine from underneath its skin.

"Are your queens not going to fight?" Baekhyun asks quickly, breathing fast. Exhilaration lights on his end of the bond.

"They'll let us tire ourselves out killing off the court first," Sehun answers. “But I haven’t seen Yixing yet. And I know he’s here.” Baekhyun doesn’t get the chance to ask who as a mid-level rushes at the two of them. He and Baekhyun grab the opposite arms of the mid-level and pull. The demon screams as it's pulled to pieces have other demons scattering backwards and away.

"I feel less tired than when we started," Baekhyun says, shoving a creature towards Sehun. It’s eyes are rolling in its head, tongue hanging out of its mouth as it screams. It’s almost a mercy for Sehun to gut the creature, flinging its corpse of to the side.

Sehun has to agree with Baekhyun, spinning to face another opponent. Many demons are hovering around the edges of the courtroom now, refusing to partake in the fight and lose their lives.

“Do you have an escape plan?” Baekhyun asks. His lower lip is split and bleeding down his chin. “Or do you intend to kill them all?” His gesture at the waning hellfire and the bloodthirsty demons beyond it

“I did not arrive here with an escape plan,” Sehun snaps. “I came to be a rescue mission!”

“You really do want me to be prince of your court, don’t you?” Baekhyun snarks.

“Oh?” A new voice cuts in. “Is the position up for grabs?” Baekhyun freezes, and Sehun’s stomach clenches. _Yixing._ The creature is standing just a few steps below the fuming Hell queens, his demeanor far too interested. Recognition of the name flares through Baekhyun; Sehun swallows, hoping to calm Baekhyun’s immediate desire to kill the creature in front of them.

“My court is not for you to simply take,” Sehun snarls at the creature. Yixing raises his hands.

“I didn’t come for your court, Don’t worry. Your queens called me back in here,” the creature says, mouth split in a wide grin. “I would have come without their insistence if I’d known a half-demon soul was at stake.” He licks over lips obscenely. 

Baekhyun snarls this time. “You’re the reason we’re here in the first place.” The hellfire flares up around Baekhyun and Sehun as if offering agreement. Yixing frowns at it and glances back at Jessica and Krystal.

“You couldn’t even put out this pesky fire?” he leers at them. He clears his throat. “Sulli,” he calls out. “Take care of this.” He gestures at the fire. “Just outside the courtroom.” Sehun watches Sulli’s silhouette, long and slinky, trudge out of the masses of the dead court demons through the blue flames, heading for the entrance doors of the courtroom..

“I will take care of these two,” snaps Sehun from his moment watching the female creature head towards the doors. Baekhyun’s disgust and awe as Yixing’s body mutates into a chimera turns the blood exchange sour between them, the notes clashing.

Yixing roars, and Sulli cackles in her high-pitched voice as she reaches out for the door handle.

The doors of the courtroom slam open, the hellfire blowing back from it, roaring as it clears a path from Sehun and Baekhyun to the door. Sulli screams as she’s thrown, and Yixing’s claws scrabble at the marble as he tries to hold himself in place from the force of the blast. Sehun whips around towards the entrance of his queens’ courtroom.

Wendy stands there, breathing hard, blood streaming from her nose and down the outside of her left thigh. Her hair whips around her face, eyes glowing a brilliant blue that matches the hellfire.

“Come on!” she screams, gesturing for them to follow her.

“Wendy?” Baekhyun breathes. “So that’s--”

Sehun grabs his Tamer’s arm, forcing him to run beside him towards the door. “Come!” he orders. “We don’t have time to stand and speculate!” Sehun sprints forward, Baekhyun hot on his heels. The roar of the hellfire seems to cease the instant they clear to the room, and then Wendy is running beside them.

“Is Kyungsoo back safe?” she demands. Their feet pound on the rock flooring of the Two Queens’ court.

“I passed him in the gate,” Baekhyun answers. “You were the one holding it open!”

“I couldn’t have done it without your added command,” the Hell queen confesses, panting as they run. “I’ve never tried to control a portal I was a good distance from, let alone one I couldn’t see.”

“I thought I told you to go to my court and wait for me there,” Sehun snarls. He rounds a corner heading left and his Tamer turns seamlessly behind him.

“Kyungsoo would be dead if I had done that,” Wendy snaps. “You knew Queen Jessica and Krystal were not going to just let him go back to your court with you.” Sehun wants to argue that his queens had already promised him the Tamer, but Baekhyun is already speaking.

“The hellfire then?” Baekhyun cuts in. “That was you too?”

“Yes,” the Hell queen confirms. “My prince was about to get himself killed. I could not allow that.” She grins wickedly, more blue flames bursting from her fingertips. They’re not as bright or as abundant this time, showing her tiredness. Controlling the flames from beyond the doors of the courtroom took a lot out of her, but her contract with Sehun was enough to get her through the fight, leeching energy from him as his own doubled and tripled with the blood exchange between him and Baekhyun.

“We’re not safe yet,” Wendy adds. “We’ve got to get back to--” Her words cut off, and Sehun turns just in time to watch and elongated hand, wrapped tightly around her throat, start to drag the Hell queen backwards. Sehun steps forwards, grabbing the arm in his right hand and tearing through the rubbery skin with his left. Baekhyun’s claws dig in just behind his. The arm tears away from the owner with a spray of blood. _Sulli._ The creature’s scream of pain echoes down the hallway, mixing with Wendy’s harsh coughing.

The Hell queen collapses on the ground, clutching at her throat. She wheezes, the sound rough and ragged. Baekhyun kneels down next to her, offering her a hand up.

“If Sulli is here then Yixing is right behind her,” Sehun warns his Tamer and his court’s lone Hell queen. “Where is Amber?”

“Dead,” Wendy mouths. A fierce sense of relief boils in Sehun’s blood. Only two of those creatures are following them. 

“We’ve got to keep moving.”

“And the queens?” Baekhyun demands, expression hard. Wendy leans heavily against him, and Sehun can feel the way she shakes in Baekhyun’s hold on his own skin.

“I don’t sense them,” Wendy croaks. The Two Queens only sent Yixing and Sulli after them then.

“Can you run?” Sehun asks. What he really needs to know is if the Hell queen can breathe. The strain in each gasping breath she takes belies her positive nod, but Sehun can’t afford to lose her in a fight. She’s the only way Baekhyun can go back to the Earth plane.

Something dark and possessive curls in Sehun’s stomach.

“You better be running, Prince!” Yixing shouts down the hallway. His voice echoes off the stone flooring.

“Sehun, let’s move,” Baekhyun urges. He holds Wendy’s elbow in a tight grip, keeping her balance for her as the Hell queen stumbles along beside him. Sehun takes off after them.

“Cowardly,” Sehun grumbles. He sprints ahead of Baekhyun, leading the way out of the Court of the Two Queens. They’re not far from the exit, and once they’re outside, sprinting across the orange and black plains of Hell, the two creatures won’t bother to keep following them. Sehun’s queens want him dead within their court boundaries; he’s known them for centuries. Escape from the court walls means Yixing and Sulli will have failed, and they won’t receive however many souls Queen Jessica and Queen Krystal promised them. Still, Sehun is buzzing with the adrenaline of the fight in the courtroom; his markings are still glowing blue. “We’re like cowards running away.”

“We could stay and fight,” Baekhyun snaps at him. “But Wendy--”

“One of them is injured!” Sehun says. “She’ll be easy to finish off. Yixing won’t be able to stand against you and I together.”

“Regrowth,” Wendy coughs. “Sulli can--” She stumbles; Baekhyun’s grip is the only thing that keeps her from tumbling all the way down onto the hard stone floor. She gasps, and a cackle comes back down the corridor to mock her.

“Hard to breathe, Hell queen?” That’s Sulli’s voice, high pitched and creaking as he she rounds the corner they just turned. “A throat for an arm. I think that’s plenty fair.” She holds up her previously torn arm, and Sehun watches the new skin slide like candle wax to cover tendon and muscle.

“Shit,” Baekhyun swears and glances up at Sehun, his fangs curving over his bottom lip. His eyes are fixed on Yixing just ahead of them, his chimera fangs hanging out to his jaw and the lizard tail sweeping behind him. “Looks like you’re getting that fight you wanted."

Wendy sucks in a shaky breath. “I can’t fight,” she mumbles. “I- queens. We regulate our magic through--” She cuts herself off to cough, rubbing again at her bruised throat. “Through our breathing.”

Sehun nods. Living under the rule of his queens has taught him only a few weaknesses of Hell queens, and most of the ones he's learned are specific to his former queens themselves. Breathing being the most dominant form of control over a Hell queen's magic is one of the few general rules he's learned. "Keep running for the exit," he orders Wendy. "Don't worry about us."

"But--"

"Go!" In a softer tone, he adds, "Joy is waiting for you." Wendy's apologetic expression turns into one of determination, and her long glance at his, checking if her prince will really be alright without her, becomes an obedient nod.

"Hellfire with you, my prince," she says, tone still scratchy, and turns to run.

"Yixing!" Sulli half-screams half-sings. "The queen is getting away."

"Then stop her," Yixing purrs. His voice should be garbled with giant fangs hanging from his mouth, but it comes out just a cold and slimy as Sehun has always heard it to be.

Sulli grins and launches herself forward. Baekhyun reacts first, diving for her. His arm wraps around the creature's waist, throwing her back. One of her arms starts to stretch out, and Baekhyun grabs it, wrenching the elongated limb down to tie it around her legs. Sulli lets out a frustrated scream, and then Yixing, fully transformed, slams into his side.

Sehun grits his teeth as he slides over the cracked stoned floor, the edges tearing new gashes into his skin. His marking flash angrily. Yixing's claws dig into his chest, and Sehun catches Baekhyun stumbling out of the corner of his eye, a hand pressed to his own heart.

Sehun screams as he throws Yixing from on top of him. He forces himself as quickly as he can to his feet, and he turns, expecting another attack. Instead he regains his balance with the laughing face of Yixing's unmorphed form burning in his retinas.

Sulli's screeching laughter joins Yixing's cackling, and Baekhyun's horror tears through Sehun before he registers what it is he's seeing.

Sulli's arm that Baekhyun didn't manage to restrain is stretched out to the end of the corridor. Caught in her grip, her toes danging just a hair's breadth off the floor, is Wendy. Her hands hang limp at her side, and her head lolls around as Sulli sways her gently from side to side by her hands wrapped tightly around her neck.

"Dead?" Sulli asks. She sniffles. "No fun." A grin splits her face. Sehun grabs for Yixing, screaming in rage. Yixing laughs, taking Sehun's blows before returning them. His eyes are wide with bloodlust, and Sehun wants nothing than to see the creature dead at his feet. Even over his own shouting, he hears the thump of Wendy's body hitting the ground. He doesn't hear Baekhyun's reaction-- doesn't know if his Tamer shouted, but he does hear Sulli's scream, does hear the high-pitched tone become garbled before it dies out completely.

Yixing drives his knee into Sehun's gut, and Sehun falls back. He glances up to see Yixing's fist heading straight for his temple and raises an arm to block the blow.

"Fuck!" Yixing screams. Sehun lowers his arm, and through the red haze in his vision, he sees Baekhyun's clawed fingers wrapped around Yixing's fists, the black tips completely disappearing into the backs of Yixing's hands. "Fucking halfling. I had him."

"You killed Wendy," Baekhyun snarls. "I killed Sulli. An eye for an eye, don't you think?" Sehun glances over at where Sulli last was. All he sees is a torn navy dress turned nearly black by the blood soaking through it. Sulli's jaw and throat have been torn away completely. Shards of bone and skin are splattered against the wall behind where she lays. It's almost impressive, the brutality that Baekhyun possesses.

Yixing opens his mouth and roars at the sight, drawing back his leg to kick Baekhyun. Baekhyun plants the heel of his boot in Yixing's gut before the creature's hit connects, and Yixing slams back into the corridor wall. His blood streaks across the stones behind him.

"Sehun, come," Baekhyun orders. "Now." He takes off running, and the blood exchange burns as it lights the markings on Sehun's arm. Sehun follows, leaping past Yixing. The scrabble of claws on the stone alerts Sehun to the creature following them in his chimera form.

"He's following us," Sehun barks at his Tamer. "It's two against one now."

"Keep running," Baekhyun orders, his voice low.

"We can end him _easily,_ " Sehun argues, catching up to his Tamer's side.

"You nearly let him kill you," Baekhyun sneers. "Your hate is messing with your ability to fight."

Sehun shoves his Tamer a little too roughly down another corridor. The stained-glass windows sparkle under the nighttime silver sun, and Sehun doesn't hesitate to smash the glass to pieces, leaping through it with Baekhyun right on his heels.

The clean miasma of hell, untainted by the Court of Two Queens fills Sehun's lungs. It calms him, both being outdoors and knowing that he is now free of Queen Jessica and Queen Krystal. He won't be welcomed back, and he has no wish to return.

Sehun grabs Baekhyun's arm, turning his Tamer to face him. "I lost a member of my court," Sehun almost whispers. "Do you expect me to remain calm?"

Baekhyun shakes his head. "Demons feel more strongly than humans do," he says. "But I need to be able to count on you to not lose your head in the middle of a fight. You're a prince, aren't you?" Sehun snarls. Of course he is. "Then act like it."

"Aww," Yixing's voice drawls from the shattered window. Sehun jerks around to face the creature where he leans up on the ledge with his chin in his hands. "You escaped." He waves his fingers at them, and his grin is cordial now despite the blood splattered across his face.

"Toodles," he calls. Sehun bares his teeth, preparing to snarl, but Baekhyun's hand settles warm on his shoulder.

"He's baiting you again," the Tamer murmurs. His voice sounds weak and tired now. The blood on his fingertips that smears on Sehun's skin is a mix of Yixing's and Sulli's, and it gives Sehun a sense of satisfaction.

Kyungsoo is safe, and Yixing's two companions are dead.

"Give me your hand," Baekhyun requests. Sehun doesn't even hesitate. He feels the blood exchange surge up again, and Baekhyun whispers to the warm night air, _"Desist."_ With a fading hum, the blood exchange slows its song until there is nothing but silence between them. Sehun's markings are black again, and the burn of hellfire no longer sits just under his skin.

He feels strangely empty all of a sudden. It's the first time that the blood exchange between Baekhyun and himself does not feel like an Eternity. Sehun's never felt cold before in his life, but as a slight shiver runs through him, he thinks he can make a pretty good guess as to what cold feels like.

Emptiness.

"My court is this way," Sehun says, taking off at a brisk jog to throw the feeling of being disconnected away. He's surprised by how tired his own voice sounds. With the blood exchange now quieted between them, he's left to stand on his own strength. He hadn't realized how little of that he had left after all his time spent on the Earth plane fighting and then in his queens' court fighting.

No longer his queens, he reminds himself.

Baekhyun's even footsteps beside him, his arm brushing Sehun's as they run, keep Sehun upright as he realizes that he and his court are now at war with the Court of Two Queens, that he has no way to send Baekhyun home, that his court is in danger, that he'll have to tell Joy--

Baekhyun's fingers lace through Sehun's, and he glances at his Tamer. The half-demon gives him an unimpressed look.

"I'm tired too," is all he says. Sehun keeps running until the spires of his castle are no longer peeking over the edge of the horizon, but instead towering over them.

"This is your home," Baekhyun breathes, his eyes wide as he takes in the entirety of the black stone castle.

"My court," Sehun says. _Home,_ he thinks. The red waters surrounding the castle are calm for once, and Sehun steps forward with Baekhyun at his side as the portcullis lifts and the drawbridge lowers.

“This type of architecture,” Baekhyun murmurs. Sehun grins.

“Where do you think humans got it from?” He steps onto the bridge, and Baekhyun walks close beside him, his shoulders drawn back. His jacket and shirt hang in shreds from his body, and the blood painting both of their skin is bright under the silver sun.

Cheers rise, loud and joyous, from within the castle.

“Our prince is home!” shouts one demon, and the roar of his court only gets louder as Sehun steps inside. The portcullis drops, and the drawbridge slams, everything lit silver under the sunlight. Questions close in on Sehun, and he feels Baekhyun’s hand close around his upper arm. His Tamer shakes beside him, and Sehun glances at him, takes in the way his eyes flicker over all the demons in the room.

“You’re safe here,” Sehun assures him, and then he can ignore the questions no longer.

“My prince,” one mid-level calls. “You’re covered in blood!”

“My prince,” another demon cries out. “Who is with you?”

“My prince,” a female voice screeches. “What is on your back?”

“My prince!”

“Quiet, all of you!” A voice, light and sweet, cuts through the clamboring and shouting of Sehun’s court. The din quiets immediately, and mid-levels and low-levels step aside for the one mid-level Sehun has dreaded seeing since he watched Wendy’s body drop to the floor. 

Joy looks as radiant as she always does, stepping up to Sehun and standing on tiptoe to kiss both of his cheeks. “You’re home, my prince,” she says. “Welcome.” Sehun forces himself to nod stiffly, seeing in his mind’s eye Wendy wrapped in Joy’s embrace and the gentle kisses they shared in dark corners before Wendy ran off to fulfill her duties in the human world or at the council. There was always risk--they live in a world that takes its sustenance from miasma, or the residue of human souls, after all--but never did Sehun imagine he would have to tell his duchess that her lover has become Lost.

“I feel welcomed,” Sehun says. He nods to his court. “Thank you.” The cheers start up again, but Joy once again cuts through the noise.

“Perhaps the court will allow me to ask you a few questions should you permit, my prince?” Sehun nods and gestures his consent. A murmur of agreement from the demons gathered in the courtyard follows his permission.

“Most pressing, I think,” Joy starts when all of the court is quiet, straining their ears to not miss a single word. “Is where you have been, my prince? We haven’t seen you since four nights ago when you left for Night Hunt?”

“I was in the court once after that,” Sehun answers truthfully. He doesn’t include that he spent the time fitting himself into a suit he’d stolen off of a man during a Night Hunt nearly a decade past and dragging his claws through his own markings, watching the skin stitch back together, sealing Baekhyun’s blood within his veins. “Since that time, I have been in the human realm.”

Joy gasps, her eyes twinkling with the fun of her theatrics. She’s always been a good duchess for Sehun’s court, able to hold both attention and command. Had her tail not been mutilated during her first few days of creation, Sehun believes she could have been a fantastic demon princess with her own court. He respects her just as all of his court does.

“The Earth plane, my prince?” Joy asks. “Is that where all of the blood is from?” She laughs. “A regular smorgasbord for you, I’m sure.” The court joins in her laughter.

“Unfortunately, Duchess,” Sehun interrupts. “The Court of Two Queens ordered my death.”

This time, Joy’s gasp is not faked. “The Two Queens?” Her eyebrows furrow. “But they created you! They cannot--”

“They can,” Sehun asserts. His court is quiet now as Sehun draws himself to his full height, regarding his loyalists with the strongest gaze he can muster in his exhausted state. “My court, listen well. Much has happened in the short time I was gone.”

Sehun pauses to take breath, and he finds comfort in Baekhyun’s grip on his arm. The Tamer is really using him as a support beam to keep himself standing at this point, but Sehun is grateful for him being quiet and not snarking about everything in Sehun’s court.

“The Hell reject decided to send his son to follow in his footsteps,” Sehun begins. “Our own Hell queen Wendy was the one to lead him to our homeland.” Sehun presses on, telling his court that the council has been demolished like the Two Queens ordered, that the two duchesses, Irene and Seulgi, are back on the Earth plane with their Tamer after Sehun’s rescue of Kyungsoo. He tells them about Amber and Sulli’s deaths, listens to their angry grumbles with satisfaction when he mentions Yixing’s name. 

He highlights Wendy as the hero of his story; he is careful not to mention the Hell queen’s death.

“So I have left the Court of Two Queens,” Sehun closes his tale. “And we all know they don’t take lightly to demons simply leaving them.” He quiets. 

“My prince?” Joy prompts.

“We are at war,” Sehun confirms. His announcement is met with silence, the energy in the room suddenly fierce. A mid-level to Sehun’s right drops to his knees, his head bowed.

“My prince, if I may speak,” the mid-level says. “This court is my home too, and I will stand with you always.”

Pride and strength burn in Sehun’s chest as the rest of his court follows suit, bending to their knees and proclaiming their loyalty to Sehun again. He grins.

“My court,” Sehun calls out to them. “I am forever grateful.”

“One last question, my prince,” Joy says. Sehun dips his head to her. “The markings on your back and the man at your side. I do not understand.”

Sehun swallows. “The halfling living under Minseok’s care,” he says finally. “I have him here beside me. The marks on my back are his, and he is mine.” He doesn’t specify in what manner Baekhyun is his, that he is his Tamer, that he is his demon, that their bond feels like an Eternity. His court will make their own implications as to what Sehun means by “mine,” and his position as prince will not be threatened by being tamed. “You will address him by name. Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun’s dark eyes cut over to Sehun, and his grip on Sehun’s arm turns sharp and displeased. He says nothing even though Sehun has dampened his pride as a Tamer.

“Yours?” Joy questions. Sehun adjusts his arm so that Baekhyun’s grip on it is clear. “I see,” the duchess says even if disbelief is heavy in her tone. “I shall go fetch the Duke Zitao and meet you in your chambers. If there is to be a war, there is much to discuss.”

“Yes, thank you, Duchess Joy,” Sehun murmurs. He waves a hand over his demons. “You are all dismissed.” He smiles. “Thank you for welcoming me home.” He takes a step towards the main entrance to the castle, and his loyalists all scatter to continue on with whatever duties they had previously been attending to before Sehun’s return home.

Sehun leads Baekhyun up to his chambers, accepting praise and declarations of loyalty from the demons he passes. Some of them bow to Baekhyun as well, and Sehun watches the way Baekhyun’s shoulders draw back, making himself appear broader. The tips of his fangs peek out from his lips, feeding on the energy of the demons around him and the miasma in the air. He looks so purely demon, his lack of a tail the only distinction that he is, in fact, part human.

As soon as the doors shut behind Sehun, Baekhyun is in front of him, glaring up at him with his top lip drawn back.

“Yours?” he demands. “I’m your Tamer. I’m not some sort of concubine for you.”

“If you’re asking me to go correct myself in front of my court, the answer is no,” Sehun says. Baekhyun growls in the back of his throat.

“You’re lying to them,” he spits.

“I’m protecting you!” Sehun snarls. “I’ve brought my Tamer into my court. Do you think any of them want a chained prince? They will kill you the moment I turn my back.”

“I can take care of myself,” Baekhyun retorts. “I think I’ve proven that to you by now.”

Sehun grabs Baekhyun’s shoulders. “I am not about to put anyone in my court in more danger than I already have today.” He tightens his grip on Baekhyun, but he doesn’t know if it’s meant to be possessive or reassuring.

Baekhyun is quiet for a long moment, staring down at the floor. When he speaks, his voice carries the slightest echo. “I’m not your court, Sehun,” he whispers. “You belong to me.” The Tamer picks at the dried blood on his hands, and Sehun steps back from him, heart pounding with the pain of Baekhyun’s words.

A knock sounds on the door. Sehun hisses a warning to Baekhyun who rolls his eyes before making his way over to the low table in the middle of the room. He settles at the head of it, daring Sehun with his eyes to ask him to move. The knock comes again.

“Come in,” Sehun calls. The ornate doors open, and the Duchess Joy strides in with the Duke Zitao right behind her.

“My prince,” Zitao greets, bowing. “Welcome home. Duchess Joy told me what has happened.” His gaze settles on Baekhyun picking at his claws at the table. “And this is the halfling, I presume.”

“If you care to keep your tongue, you’ll call me by name,” Baekhyun says casually. Zitao just laughs. 

“Of course, Lord Baekhyun,” the duke exclaims. He offers his elbow to Joy, and the duchess takes it, allowing the duke to lead her to sit at the table. Her eyes never leave Sehun, narrowed just slightly at him.

“Prince Sehun, come sit,” Zitao gestures across from him. “Tell me what you’ve called me for.”

Joy squints. “I wonder if he means to be truthful about Baekhyun now that he is in the company of his fellow royals,” she muses. Zitao hushes her, and a wave of calm rushes over Sehun. He glances at Baekhyun

“It’s not your place to ask me about Baekhyun, Duchess,” Sehun says.

“We all have sworn our lives to you, Prince,” Joy exclaims. “It’s hard to not regret that decision when you’ve lied to all of us!”

“Do you really expect the court to allow Baekhyun to live?” Sehun argues. “They do not want a tamed prince.”

“They want an honest prince who is loyal to them as well,” Joy fires at him. She glances at Baekhyun with a hint of an apology in her eyes before she speaks next. “Tell me, Prince Sehun, why do you want to remain tamed?”

The humiliation of Baekhyun threatening to take his court and the shame at wanting to keep the halfling around, to not forfeit his life, weighs heavy on Sehun.

“You are right, Duchess,” Sehun says in place of an answer. “He has Tamed me.”

Joy slams a fist down on the table. “I already know--”

“Duchess, please,” Zitao interrupts. “Our prince’s Tamer is a halfling. Perhaps the normal rules of taming do not apply, hm?” He lays a gentle hand on her arm. “There is more than the prince is willing to share going on between him and Baekhyun. Just wait a little. The full truth will make itself known sooner or later.” His meaningful look and the contract between them says _do not wait for later, my prince._

“Now, Prince Sehun,” Zitao continues. “I assume you called me here to ask that I begin preparations in case we are attacked by your former queens.” He grins, his fangs showing. “I will see to it right away.” He makes to stand.

“One other thing, Duke,” Sehun says. He waves feebly at Baekhyun next to him. “My-- Baekhyun needs new clothing.”

Zitao rises from his seat and nods. “I will begin preparations for war directly after,” he says. He bows to Sehun and then to Baekhyun before he sweeps out of the room.

“You can go through those doors there,” Sehun sighs, pointing over Baekhyun’s shoulder. “My baths are--”

“I’ll wait for the duke to return,” Baekhyun interrupts. “Joy has more to say, and I think you need me to keep you from making a fool of yourself again in front of your duchess.” Another wave of calm covers Sehun through the bond he shares with his tamer, the edges of his markings lighting up faintly. Baekhyun signals for Joy to speak. 

“Prince Sehun,” Joy begins, and she sounds more serious, more dry than Sehun has ever heard her. “I do not mean to trouble you, but I need to know.” She stares straight into Sehun’s eyes, and his heart splinters. He knows exactly what she’s going to ask before the words tumble soft from her mouth.

“Where is Wendy?”

Sehun ducks away from Joy’s piercing eyes. “She’s in the Court of Two Queens,” he answers truthfully. His hands shake with anger and grief.

“Why is she there?” Joy demands. Sehun keeps his face turned away and says nothing. “Did you not just escape from there? Why is she still there?” Sehun shakes his head; he can’t say it. To tell Joy her lover has been Lost.

Joy jumps to her feet, hands curled into fists at her sides. “My prince!”

“She’s dead,” Baekhyun says, voice dull. Joy’s energy stops cold, her body suddenly still where she shook with fury before.

“My prince?” she asks, desperate. She’s reaching for Sehun now, as if clinging to him will change Wendy’s fate. “Is this true?”

Sehun finally looks up. He owed his duchess this much, at least. “She was immeasurably brave,” he whispers. He flinches at how loudly his voice echoes in the common area of his chambers. “She--”

“She’s Lost,” Joy cuts in. She covers her mouth with one dainty hand, the other wrapping around her stomach as if holding herself together. “How did she-- who killed--?” She doesn’t quite make it through a whole sentence, and Sehun finds himself at a complete loss for words.

Baekhyun answers his duchess’s half-formed questions with blunt fact, and his eyes are troubled despite his blank voice as he talks. “Choked by that creature called Sulli. She was already tired, opening a Hell gate she couldn’t see and manipulating hellfire from behind closed doors. We all hesitated a moment too long, and I--” The Tamer bites his lip and sucks in a breath. “I couldn’t kill Sulli before she’d already gotten her hand around Wendy’s throat.” Joy stares at the half-demon, blinking slowly as she processes his words.

“I’m sorry,” Sehun offers. His duchess turns back to look at him. She’s quiet for a long time, and Sehun, his own heart aching as he watches pain paint his duchess’s face in splotchy red, stands, moving to comfort Joy. He doesn’t expect her to flinch away from him, nor does he expect the outburst that follows.

“Wendy swore her life to you!” Joy shouts, pointing with one curved claw towards Sehun’s heart. “I’ve sworn my life to you. Would you let me die too just because your _Tamer_ is beside you? He has sworn nothing but hate to you! He wants to use you as a weapon against your own kind! And still you let Wendy, a member of your court, die.” Joy breathes hard, her hands shaking and tears spilling down her cheeks. Just underneath the overwhelming sensation of Baekhyun’s presence, Sehun can make out her anguish, how much grief she’s holding back, through his contract with her.

“I’m not to leave your court, and I’m not going stand anywhere but at your side when you need me,” Joy manages through each tremor in her body. “But my prince will forgive me if I find you selfish and cruel at this moment.” The duchess turns on her heal then, and strides out the door. Just before it slams behind her, Sehun hears her first cry ringing hollowly in her throat, and guilt begins to tear into him.

“I wonder,” Baekhyun begins when the sound of the door slamming has stopped ringing in Sehun’s ears. “Why did you choose to let me live? You could have saved Wendy and left me to die at the hands of those creatures. Kyungsoo was already safe.”

“Do you want me to let you die?” Sehun snaps, turning on his heel. Baekhyun meets his challenge with defiance, pushing himself up to his feet.

“No,” Baekhyun replies. His voice is clear and honest. “I’m just asking. You could have been free of me. You won’t admit who I am to your court because you don’t want them to kill me. That’s what you said. You said--”

“I called you down to Hell today,” Sehun cuts in. “I acted like a Tamer. Do you know what happens to Tamers when their demons die?” Baekhyun is silent. “Nothing about this blood exchange fits within the parameters of what I’ve known a blood exchange to be. How do I know that your death won’t mean mine?” Baekhyun’s eyes are narrowed, but uncertainty is clouding his end of the blood exchange. He stands, taking two steps to plant himself right in front of Sehun.

“That’s a weak excuse,” he sneers. “This blood exchange doesn’t make sense? You acting protective of me is what doesn’t make sense.” He jabs a finger into Sehun’s chest.

“I take care of what’s mine,” Sehun states, shoving Baekhyun’s hand away.

“You are mine, remember?” his Tamer says. “Wendy was your own, and now she’s dead. And I have no way to get home without a Hell queen. So tell me, _Prince,_ just how much of _your own_ have you taken care of today?” Sehun hisses, at loss for an answer. Baekhyun bares his teeth at him, and Sehun wants to grab him, to drag him in close and teach the halfling a lesson. His words sting worse than any claw marks, but here in Sehun’s court, he should have the power to make the rules. If he doesn’t want to be asked questions he can’t answer, he shouldn’t be asked those questions.

“Learn your place,” Sehun spits at his Tamer. “This is Hell. My domain. My rules.”

“Earn my respect then,” Baekhyun says in a clipped tone. “You’re in the middle of a war with humanity and a war with your queens. Your court does not need entitled princes.” Sehun’s mouth works, opening and snapping shut as he works through something to say, but no words are forthcoming. 

The doors open.

“Wow, tension,” Zitao says, stepping inside. He glances back and forth between his prince and the halfling. He strides over to Baekhyun, dropping a small bundle of clothing in his hands. He looks at Sehun for only a moment, his eyes tracing the points of Sehun’s fangs.

“If I may be so bold, my prince,” Zitao starts, and he launches into his thought before Sehun can even grant him permission. His voice is serious and warning in tone. “I simply wonder if you can even feel what Joy is feeling right now. You should be able to. My duchess and my prince share a strong contract, and yet, there is something about the way you treat the halfling that makes me think perhaps you are numb to even the fear running through your court right now at the thought of war with the Court of Two Queens.”

“What exactly are you saying?” Sehun asks. His contract with Joy is strong, and he _can_ feel her pain. Sehun’s court consists of hundreds of demons who call themselves his loyalists, swearing themselves to Sehun’s servitude, and only four out of all of those declarations of devotion has Sehun found to be worth keeping close to himself. Joy was the first contract Sehun ever made, creating for himself the best duchess any prince could hope for. “Of course I can feel her.”

Zitao ducks his head. “I do not wish to anger you my prince, but it is just that, the bond you share with your Tamer--well. You act as if it is an Eternity. And we know from watching Seulgi and Irene that an Eternity can blot out even the most powerful of blood exchanges. How could a contract even hope to stand up to it?”

Sehun stares in stunned silence at his duke.

“You should leave,” Baekhyun says. “ _Now._ ”

“Alright, I’m leaving then,” Zitao says, regarding Sehun’s clawed hands very carefully. “Much to prepare for. Goodnight, my prince.” He skitters back out of Sehun’s chambers, and Baekhyun exhales in an annoyed huff when he leaves.

“This is a blood exchange,” he sniffs. “Not any sort of Eternity.” He twists his hands in the fabric Zitao set in his hands. “I’m going to bathe,” he declares. He glares at Sehun. “I’ve had enough of you for now.”

Sehun watches his Tamer disappear into his washroom before he collapses on one of the long couches in the common area, throwing his marked arm over his eyes. He’s lost an important member of his court, lost the affection of one of his duchesses, has two duchesses on the Earth plane, a war brewing just outside his court walls, and a Tamer stuck here in Hell with him. He doesn’t have a single solution to any of his problems.

_All in a day’s work,_ he thinks wryly. Only time can heal all of this, but time is not something any of them have with war pending just over the horizon. The blood exchange that feels more like an Eternity runs hot though Sehun’s veins, the blue flashing seeping through his closed eyelids.

***

Baekhyun steps out of the bath fumbling with the ties on his shirt. The fabric is soft and cool against his skin, but it’s decorated with all these ties that he can’t quite figure out where they’re supposed to connect. His fingertips are no longer covered with blood and bits of skin are no longer stuck under his nails. Clean like this, he can feels his humanity with startling clarity that he hasn’t felt since he tamed Sehun.

However, right now, his humanity is like a separate entity that shares his body and sits heavy in his bloodstream. It leaves a sweet, cloying taste on Baekhyun’s tongue, and his chest aches as if he should cough that half of himself out of his body.

His demon side fits better under his skin than it ever has before. Baekhyun breathes in the miasma of Hell, and warmth surges through him. It’s the same type of warmth he’s come to associate with the feeling of “belonging,” of “home.” He feels revitalized, his body recovered from every cut and gash he acquired in the Court of Two Queens. His muscles ache, though; he needs sleep.

Baekhyun groans, giving up on the ties of his shirt. Another sigh across the room answers him.

Sehun’s weariness sinks deep into Baekhyun’s bones. His demon’s silver hair is still streaked through with rusty, red blood, and tracks cut through the grime on his cheeks. He’s staring at nothing, his mental anguish transferring the memories of Wendy’s body to Baekhyun. Baekhyun flexes his hands, squeezing his eyes shut against the image of deep purple bruises winding a ring around Wendy’s neck.

“The bath is open,” Baekhyun says when his heart is no longer threatening to tear itself apart from Sehun’s grief. Sehun jolts in his seat, turning to stare at Baekhyun as if he had forgotten the Tamer is in his court. His eyes are as sharp as ever as he takes Baekhyun in, tracing the lines water droplets trail down Baekhyun’s neck. The slightest hint of satisfaction creeps through the blood exchange underneath Sehun’s mourning.

His eyes fix on the undone ties on Baekhyun’s shirt. “Do you need help?” the demon prince asks, standing. He reaches out a hand for the collar of Baekhyun’s shirt, and desperation, a need to touch, reflects between the both of them. It’s powerful and unexpected; Baekhyun steps back. The blood exchange screams angrily at him for moving away.

“I--” Baekhyun starts, but he doesn’t have anything to say.

“Of course,” Sehun says. “My room is there.” He points to the centermost door on the back wall of the common room. “You can sleep there, or I can find you alternative arrangements somewhere in my court.”

“Here is fine,” Baekhyun says quickly. Sehun gestures towards the long couch.

“Then I’ll stay out here--”

“Sehun,” Baekhyun interrupts. “How am I going to get home?” The word ‘home’ leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. The Earth plane is most familiar to Baekhyun, but he has never called it home. Gatewatchers is work, and Baekhyun is unwelcome among his fellow humans.

Sehun shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he whispers.

“I can’t stay here,” Baekhyun says. He thinks of his humanity, the tiny capsule that seems to make up in his body, like a separate piece of him.

“You won’t stay here,” Sehun says with a voice so quiet, so close to shattering. Baekhyun wants to reach for him, but Sehun’s shoulders are already drawing back, a protective measure to guard himself from touch. Baekhyun’s hands freeze by his side. “I can’t make you stay.”

“I don’t want to stay,” Baekhyun says. “But I have no way to leave.”

“Baekhyun, I promise you,” Sehun says, his eyes closed. “I will see to it that you can go back to the Earth plane.”

“When?” Baekhyun asks. Sehun’s eyes stay closed.

“Before this war starts.” He sounds determined but not particularly hopeful.

“Do you know there will be a war? Are you absolutely certain?”

“Yes,” Sehun says, answer definite and firm. “There will be a war. The Two Queens will not allow me to live after leaving them. And they won’t accept that you’re still alive and in my court.”

“If I go back to the Earth plane,” Baekhyun begins, tilting his head just a little to get a better view of Sehun’s face. “Will that help?”

Sehun shakes his head. “There is already a war between demons and humans,” Sehun murmurs. “If I know Queen Jessica and Queen Krystal at all, then a war between my court and there’s is intended to be a means to an end.”

“What end?” Baekhyun prompts.

“I don’t know,” Sehun answers. “For now, all we can do is secure my court from attack and wait for my duchesses to return to me.”

“More demons coming back to your court won’t help me get back,” Baekhyun tells his demon.

“But Irene and Seulgi are our only connection between the Hell plane and the Earth plane right now,” Sehun replies. “Kyungsoo will help you get back if he can. He owes that much to you. Irene and Seulgi are our only option to relay the message that you’re trapped here back to someone who could possibly get you out.”

“You know Wendy was the only Hell queen Gatewatchers had access to,” Baekhyun whispers.

“Baekhyun,” Sehun says. His eyes are open now, and he keeps his eyes level with Baekhyun’s. “I swear to you, at the cost of my own life, even if we don’t know how yet, I will get you back to the Earth plane.” 

“Don’t swear on your life.” Sehun blinks in slight shock at the order. Baekhyun takes a deep breath and moves a step closer to his demon. “I need you here. Alive.” Baekhyun doesn’t mention that Sehun has never once referred to the Earth plane as Baekhyun’s home; he thinks Sehun would prefer it if his home were elsewhere. Somewhere like here. The thought is oddly satisfying.

“I promise I will get you out of here,” Sehun says, his sincerity warm in Baekhyun’s chest. He lifts a hand to Sehun’s cheek and runs his thumb over the curve of his cheekbone.

_Thank you,_ he wants to say. “Go wash,” he says instead. Sehun’s fingers curl loosely over Baekhyun’s wrist, and he presses his cheek against Baekhyun’s palm, leaning forward just a little. His eyes burn with determination.

“I promise,” he repeats. Baekhyun waits, simply breathing his demon in. Sehun kisses him then, and Baekhyun clings on to him because this much is familiar. In this place where Baekhyun feels like a demon and where nothing follows the order he has carefully built around his life to contain his demonic nature, Sehun is the only person Baekhyun can trust. He can’t even trust himself.

The blood exchange croons a slow melody as they bid each other goodnight.

***

Months and days are not measured in Hell with specific dates. Days pass with the cycle of one purple sun and one silver sun, and counting those is not something any demon Baekhyun meets in the halls of Sehun's court is interested in. Sehun explains that it's an instinctive knowledge of passing time that they all live by. Immortal demons have no need for a way to specifically track their days.

"And the old demon wars?" Baekhyun had asked Joy once. "There are specific records of those." The duchess just laughed prettily.

"Humans keep good records," she told him. "We eat their souls. I assure you we have no problem borrowing a few dates."

Baekhyun estimates it had been about eight days since he first arrived in Hell and seven since he arrived in Sehun's court when he asked Joy that question. It's driving him crazy being cooped up like this, his fangs and claws always threatening to burst from his gums and fingertips. It reminds him of his days spent locked in the Gatewatchers' facility. At least there he could work off the steam of irritation in the gym or distract himself with Taehyung's nonsense whenever he needed it.

Here, Baekhyun is surrounded by the agitation brought on by impending war and Sehun and Joy's dark, crushing grief over Wendy's loss. He needs to do something. Sehun is rarely around, too busy making sure his court is running smoothly and with the same loyalty that they've always held even as threats of leaving rise from some of the low-levels. Irene and Seulgi have yet to make an appearance in Sehun's court, and even though Sehun assures him that they and Kyungsoo are alright from what he can tell through his contract with them, Baekhyun is losing his patience.

His humanity has become a small locked box in the corner of his heart, and he isn't sure where he left the key. He needs to get back to the human plane before his status as a Tamer is changed to that of a demon who needs to be tamed.

After all, he's been breathing Hell's miasma long enough now. He's certainly immortal in the same way as Lord Tamer and his son, and he thinks that probably has something to do with why his human side feels so small and inaccessible now. Demons are all immortal; there's no way for Baekhyun to deny that he's more demon than human at this point.

Baekhyun breathes in deeply, feels the miasma swirl in his lungs. He hasn't eaten since he came to Hell, and it was the most disturbing moment of his life to realize he doesn't have to.

"The miasma is our life source," Zitao explained to him after catching Baekhyun poking around the castle for a kitchen. "Souls are almost like dessert, I suppose? We don't need them, but we like them, and the energy boost they give us in incredible. There's always a crash afterward, however."

"So normally," Baekhyun had managed to say very slowly, trying not to think about how absolutely delicious a human soul sounds right now. He remembers Sehun licking the residue of Yerim's soul from his fingers, and he remembers wanting to wrap his own lips around the demon prince's fingertips and taste her soul for himself. "So normally you eat what?"

Zitao had blinked at him. "We don't," he had stated simply. "The miasma gives us everything we need. It's laced with the energy of rotten human souls, anyway." Baekhyun had nodded mutely and hurried back to Sehun's chambers where he curled in on himself and dry heaved. Learning that he's been breathing in nutrition born from the souls of the damned had only raised Baekhyun's desperation to leave Hell.

He completely disregards how comfortable it is here. Despite being largely left alone by his demon, he's respected for his demon-half's abilities and treated with the utmost respect as the prince's lover by Sehun's court. Baekhyun is still angry that Sehun chose to tell his court that Baekhyun is nothing more than a powerful concubine, but Sehun still bows his head to Baekhyun when he returns to his chambers for a rest. Baekhyun even invites Sehun to return to his own room just in an effort to stave off the loneliness, but Sehun refuses.

"Sharing kisses is one thing," Sehun had said. "But I won't agree to sleep in my bed with you when you can't look me in the eyes when you ask." For trying to keep Baekhyun comfortable, Baekhyun is grateful, but he still feels like background noise when all he ever gets from Sehun over the blood exchange is worry over his court and anticipation for a fight that has not yet come.

On the ninth day of Baekhyun's imprisonment in Sehun's court, he decides he's had enough. Waiting around is making him sick with unease, and he has no idea how long it will take Kyungsoo to recover from the trauma of being tortured by the Two Queens. That could take a few days or it could take years-- years that Baekhyun is not willing to spend waiting for a rescue.

Hell queens are the only way for a human to pass through the gate; they're the only ones who are able to keep Hell's miasma from attacking a human while they travel through to the other side. The Hell queens' council was destroyed, but there are other Hell queens out there. He just has to find one willing to send him back.

When Sehun is busy with the affairs of his court, Baekhyun shuts himself down, returning to the emotionless shell he was before Sehun tore his carefully built balance to shreds.

He runs.

The plains of Hell are hot, and sweat drips down Baekhyun's back as he sprints across the flat landscape. He doesn't know where he's going, but it's the opposite direction of the Court of Two Queens. All he needs to find is another prince's or princess's court. It'll be a gamble for his life, but if he can convince a Hell queen of another court to send him back to the Earth plane, then he will be free from feeling like his humanity is only a breath away from succumbing to his demon side.

As he runs, the flat planes becomes lined with black trees, their yellow leaves and white blossoms fluttering underneath the red sky. The silver sun is beginning to chase the purple sun from the sky, and the familiar thrill of an approaching Night Hunt crawls underneath Baekhyun's skin.

Night Hunt itself won't be for another day; Baekhyun can tell by the familiar sting in the markings on his shoulder and the tension in his muscles. It's much easier to feel the fabric beginning to tear between the two worlds here, to feel the miasma beginning to swirl in agitated clouds where gates will open and demons and miasma will swarm into the human world in search of dessert.

Baekhyun's ears pick up something like the snapping of a tree branch, and he only manages to brace himself for he's tackled to the ground, a familiar cackle ringing in his ears.

"Look who I found!" sneers loudly against Baekhyun's temple. His mouth is filled with dirt, and he can only just barely make out high walls with decorated battlements on the horizon. "So close to another court, too." Yixing leaps from Baekhyun's back. Baekhyun coughs harshly, spewing dirt everywhere and sucking in a desperate lungful of miasma.

"What are you doing out here, Tamer?" Yixing asks conversationally. His stance is casual, but long lion's claws are hanging from his fingers speak of nothing but killing intent. A shiver runs down Baekhyun's spine. He's been running for hours, dragging out the distance between himself and his demon until he can't feel Sehun's energy through the bond anymore. He's not in a good physical condition for a fight, yet Yixing's voice alone has Baekhyun's claws sliding from his fingertips, digging deep gauges in the earth under his hands.

"Running," Baekhyun grunts, pushing himself up to his knees. He wobbles a bit, his ribs and forehead bruised with the impact of Yixing's attack.

"Ha!" Yixing barks. "Runaway, perhaps."

Baekhyun gets to his feet, brushing his dusty hands clean on his pants. He doesn't deign to answer Yixing's questions, instead giving one of his own. "Still want to take my corpse to your queens, creature?"

YIxing's grin shows all of his sharply pointed teeth. "Oh no," he says. "I have nothing to gain from them. I've already failed their challenge to present them with your blood." His left foot shifts forward infinitesimally, but it's enough for Baekhyun to lock on his movements. "However, for the simple pleasure of it, I do admit--" He slides his tongue over his bottom lip, and Baekhyun watches as it morphs, becoming long and forked.

"I would be absolutely thrilled to see you dead."

He hisses, and Baekhyun throws himself left. Yixing flies right past him, and Baekhyun spins on his heel. He throws a left cross, smashing his fist into Yixing's cheekbone. The creature reals back, the skin on his cheek cracking open. His forked tongue snakes out to lick at the wound, and his eyes darken at the taste of blood.

"Such confidence for a little halfling," Yixing coos. "Where is that demon prince of yours?"

"I don't need him for this," Baekhyun snaps. Yixing throws his head back and laughs, madness blatant in his voice. Baekhyun tracks the slight twitch in Yixing's hands and legs, and he holds his tongue against making any further remarks. He's seen what Yixing can do, and he can't afford to lose focus holding idle chit-chat. He catches the shift of Yixing's right shoulder, and Baekhyun throws himself at Yixing's feet. He slides clean underneath Yixing's roundhouse and digs his claws into the creature's ankle as he slides past. The rocks on the ground tear at his shirt and skin, and Baekhyun winces at the slight pain.

A moment of distraction too long.

Yixing's heel smashes Baekhyun across the temple, and he's thrown back. His back collides with the ground, knocking the wind from his lungs. He coughs hard, gratified at least that he can feel Yixing's blood and skin caught under his claws.

Baekhyun gets his eyes open, making out Yixing's figure limping towards him. His sight is fuzzy with the blow to his head, and dread settles heavy in Baekhyun's stomach. He can't fight if he can't see.

_Get up!_ screams in Baekhyun's head. It's Sehun's voice, and Baekhyun is scrambling up to his feet right away. YIxing cackles again, and Baekhyun throws his arms up in a block only to take a hard hit to his lower ribs. He swears he could hear them breaking, and the shriek of pain bubbles up past his lips before he even registers he's screaming.

The blood exchange roars to life, and Sehun's voice echoes through Baekhyun's aching head, demanding to know where he is and if he's alright. Baekhyun groans.

"Shut up!" Yixing hisses. He sounds delighted by Baekhyun's pain. He grabs Baekhyun's shoulders and sinks his long lion claws up underneath his shoulder blades. Baekhyun can't even manage a sob before the world blurs further and tilts on its axis as Yixing throws Baekhyun with all his might.

There's only a split second spent in the air before Baekhyun skids across the ground. Sehun's worry is blinding him, filling his vision with too much red sky and not enough details. He doesn't even see the kick that Yixing plants hard in his gut until he's knocked back the other way, gasping for breath through the pain.

"Now," the creature purrs. "I know I'm not supposed to play with my food, but--" He smacks his lips twice. Baekhyun squints against the silver sun, trying to clear his vision. His head is pounding. "You're just too much fun."

Baekhyun spits out a mouthful of blood. His eyes can only barely focus on Yixing's jagged grin and the bright, desperate flashing of his marking. His back aches, and he feels short of breath. In his head, the echo of Sehun's feet pounding across the planes at he runs from his court starts too late.

"I'm going to kill you, did you know?" Yixing mocks. Baekhyun focuses on the resonance of Sehun's feet in his head, but the demon prince is too far away to save Baekhyun. Yixing is standing over him with his fingers transformed in what looks like a machete, his trajectory clearly intended to be Baekhyun's neck. He's going to die. The Tamer closes his eyes.

"That's enough, Yixing," interrupts the end the of the fight, and Yixing jolts. Baekhyun squints up, but his vision is too blurry to make out the owner of the voice. A demon, clearly, if the echo in his tone is anything to judge by. Baekhyun thinks he's supposed to recognize it, vaguely, but his brain is too addled with pain to properly tell.

"He's basically dead now," Yixing whines. "Just let me--"

"Go home, Yixing," the voice says again, low and commanding. "You've had your fun."

"But I want him dead!" the creature protests.

"This is my land," the demon says. There's a blur of movement, and Yixing is suddenly gone from standing over Baekhyun, crouching on the ground feet away instead. Another figure stands over him, his tail lashing behind him as he raises his claws towards Yixing. A pink flash of the creature's forked tongue is all Baekhyun can properly distinguish.

"Go home, Yixing," the demon threatening the creature repeats after the other demon, and Baekhyun knows him immediately.

Jimin.

The creature lets out an annoyed sigh and focuses his eyes not on Jimin but on the first demon who had spoken. "Of course, Prince," he growls. There are footsteps, and then gentle hands are curling under Baekhyun's shoulders, helping him sit up.

"Slow," the demon says. "Just like that." Baekhyun blinks. He knows this touch and this scenario.

"Jongdae?" he asks quietly. A laugh answers him.

"That's me," Jongdae confirms. "You might want to call me 'prince,' on these lands, though." The demon prince helps Baekhyun stand, and Baekhyun's vision swims. He can feel blood drying on his back and the strange itching sensation of his wounds closing up. Baekhyun wobbles on his feet, and Jimin's hands are firm on his waist when he starts to tip backwards. Baekhyun tosses a blank glance over his shoulder. Jimin will understand his gratitude.

"I never expected to see you in my humble abode," Jongdae teases. Baekhyun leans immediately against him, allowing the demon to support most of his weight. Jongdae does so without complaint, his hand gentle on Baekhyun's back to guide him. Baekhyun squeezes his eyes shut, blinking a few times to hopefully clear the fuzziness in his vision.

"That's a nasty bump on your head," Jongdae remarks. "Just breathe, alright? It will clear up before we get to my court." Excitement, just a light jolt of it, flares through Baekhyun. If Jongdae is taking him to his court, then surely he will allow Baekhyun to use one of his queens for Baekhyun to travel back to the Earth plane. Baekhyun does as Jongdae suggests and just breathes. A few deep breaths and a bit of stumbling later, Baekhyun's vision is starting to clear. He sees Jimin's worried face twist into a smirk when he notices Baekhyun is watching him.

Between the two demons, Baekhyun feels inexplicably safe.

"How did you know I was out here?" Baekhyun asks as they step under the shadow of the high walls of Jongdae's fortress, heading for the main gate.

"There's not much that happens outside my court that I'm not aware of," Jongdae answers. Jimin snorts on Baekhyun's other side. He's a little vague just as he was when he first showed up out of the blue to help Baekhyun out after his fight with Sehun.

"But you could have just sent Jimin?" Baekhyun prompts.

"Against Yixing?" Jongdae asks with this lilt to his voice like he expects Baekhyun to fill in the blanks from there. The creature is powerful, but an order to leave Jongdae's lands does not require brute strength. On his other side, Jimin crosses his arms.

"I could have taken care of him, my prince," he says. Jongdae grins at the mid-level.

"Of course you could have," he says, completely contradicting his earlier statement. Baekhyun feels lost, but their banter is comfortable, and Jongdae's arm is warm around his shoulders. 

Sehun's end of the blood exchange flares with something like jealousy alongside his concern.

"Let us in!" Jimin calls out, his voice echoing off the sky and the stone walls. The gates swing in, and Jongdae leads Baekhyun into his court, Jimin hurrying just a few steps ahead of them.

The rhythm of Sehun's feet as he runs has stopped beating in Baekhyun's ears. Worry permeates the blood exchange. Baekhyun can feel him searching, reaching out across the bond.

"What is your face doing?" Jimin sneers at Baekhyun. The halfling shoots a sharp glare at Taehyung's demon, and he feels a sense of relief that nothing has changed.

"It's my demon," he says. "He's pulling on our blood exchange."

"Let him know where you are," Jongdae encourages. "He will come. And my court will not harm him."

Walking into Jongdae's court is so different from entering Sehun's court. Where Sehun's loyalists had swarmed him, praising their prince and reaching for him, Jongdae's subjects immediately drop into a bow, murmuring their love for their prince as he gestures for them to rise when he passes. His power and influence are apparent, his long rule as a prince obvious in the confidence that sits along the lines of his shoulders and the gratitude towards his subjects that is clear in his smile.

"Come," Jongdae encourages. "Jimin will fetch you a fresh shirt."

"But!" the mid-level protests. Jongdae raises an eyebrow at him. Jimin swallows.

"Yes, my prince," he amends with a slight bow before he dashes away.

"Always been a bit of trouble, that one," Jongdae whispers to Baekhyun. "But you know him, don't you? His Tamer is a friend of yours?"

Baekhyun looks at Jongdae. "Did Jimin tell you that?" Jongdae gives him a secretive smile, one Baekhyun is realizes he will receive after any question he asks.

"This way," Jongdae says, and he turns to lead Baekhyun down a large corridor. The ceilings are high and vaulted here, and the walls are decorated with huge tapestries. Baekhyun stares at the stories as they pass them, reading in the illustrations what appears to be the history of Jongdae's court.

"The old demon wars?" Baekhyun asks.

"Yes," Jongdae says. "Since they are accredited as my fault, I think I should keep records." Baekhyun watches the demon prince. His gaze is focused on the last tapestry, his eyes going a bit soft. He allows Baekhyun to make a full stop in front of the thick fabric, and Baekhyun takes his time following each line of colourful thread.

Taking up the main focus of this tapestry, her face making an appearance in more scenes than any woman shown previously on the multiple stories hanging along the walls, is a human woman in a black coat. The golden crest sewn onto her shoulder depicts her to be a Tamer, and her deep raven hair is blown across her piercing eyes in many of the pictures.

She's a fighter. The tapestry shows pictures of many demons lying at her feet and other pictures of her arms decorated with tattoos flashing alongside her demons. An entire panel of art shows what appears to be Jongdae facing off with the woman, both of them baring their teeth, claws and knives flashing.

"Who is she?" he asks. The ending picture shows peace in Jongdae's court, the demon grinning wide and triumphant, but the woman is nowhere to be seen.

"She's on the walls of Gatewatchers," Jongdae says, giving another vague answer. "A powerful Tamer." Baekhyun waits, watching Jongdae's eyes still tracing out the lines of the woman's face. The demon prince releases a breath, and his hand smooths over Baekhyun's shoulders. Baekhyun no longer needs the prince to stand, his body having healed itself by now, but Jongdae has helped him after two attacks now. He feels comfortable with him.

"Unafraid," he adds quietly, almost reverent.

"And you were the one killed her," Baekhyun says.

"I am the reason she's no longer a Tamer," Jongdae agrees. "Angel of death-- that's what they called her at Gatewatchers." Baekhyun thinks back to the plaques hanging on the walls of the long hallways around Gatewatchers.

"What was her name?" he asks.

Jongdae turns to look at him. "Do the dead need names?" he asks. Baekhyun blinks. Why is he avoiding his question?

"Now, come," Jongdae says, guiding Baekhyun out of the corridor. "We will wait for your demon in the throne room." Baekhyun allows himself to be led out, his thoughts too focused on the woman on the tapestry to argue. Besides, Sehun is a strong demon whom Baekhyun tamed with a good amount of luck on his side, but Baekhyun doesn't know Jongdae's strength. He had seen only a glimpse of his strength of character with how his court treats him, but as for his physical strength, Baekhyun has no idea.

Jongdae speaks casually about everything and nothing as they enter the throne room. Jimin is waiting there with a new shirt in his hands, and Baekhyun changes quickly. This shirt has none of the complicated ties that had decorated the shirt Zitao had given him, and for that, Baekhyun is grateful.

"Why did you leave Prince Sehun's court?" Jongdae asks casually.

Baekhyun lowers his gaze. "I thought, perhaps, if you had a Hell queen, I could ask her to send me home."

Jongdae makes a little 'ah' of understanding, but it's Jimin who laughs outright.

"We don't have any Hell queens," he says. "And if we did, they'd be in hiding right now. All of them are hiding after the destruction of the council."

Baekhyun's heart sinks. He can't risk searching for another Hell queen in this land that he knows nothing about, not when both the Two Queens and Yixing are out for his blood. There's nothing for Baekhyun to do but return with Sehun to his demon's court; he's struck by how much he wants to.

Jimin coughs. Jongdae glances at him, granting him permission to speak.

"My Tamer is calling me," he says with a bow to his prince. He nods to Baekhyun. "I'll tell him you're here."

Baekhyun doesn't say 'thank you,' but he gives Jimin a nod of his own as a gate opens under the mid-level's feet, and he steps into the portal, disappearing with a bright grin.

"Those two," the prince says with a shake of his head. "Their relationship is not unusual, but they do an awful job of hiding their feelings."

Something like jealousy twists in Baekhyun's heart, and he reaches out for Sehun through the blood exchange. He hears his demon's harsh breathing and the rhythm of his feet over the plains becoming more uneven. There are moments when his feet are planted firmly, and moments when he leaps high off the ground. From beyond the doors to Jongdae's courtroom, Baekhyun hears a rising ruckus, shouting and pained shrieks from beyond the door. He glances over at Jongdae, and the prince sits back on his throne, an ankle laid over his knee. He's smirking just slightly, and he winks when he catches Baekhyun staring at him.

"It appears Prince Sehun has arrived," Jongdae sighs. "Such a dramatic entrance." Not even a second after he finishes speaking, the doors to his throne room fly open, and Sehun bursts inside with his teeth bared.

Jongdae releases a slightly irritated sigh and gets to his feet. Sehun's eyes, blazing red, focus on the other prince, and he launches himself forward. It happens too fast for Baekhyun to track it. One second, Sehun is airborne, claws extended towards Jongdae, and the next, he's flat on his back, Jongdae's hand wrapped around his neck.

"Prince Jongdae," Sehun snarls up at him.

"Open your eyes, Prince Sehun," Jongdae says, demeanor entirely calm. "What are you attacking me for?"

"You have Baekhyun," Sehun wheezes, scrabbling at Jongdae's back. His claws can't tear the skin fast enough before the prince is already healed.

"Sehun," Baekhyun snaps. "Look at me." Sehun freezes in his efforts, and Baekhyun hurries to Sehun's side, kneeling down beside him. Jongdae backs off immediately, returning to his throne. Baekhyun settles a hand on Sehun's shoulder, and the demon prince stares at him with bright eyes, relief flooding their bond. "I'm okay," Baekhyun says.

He doesn't expect to be pulled down to the floor with his demon, but Sehun's arms are sturdy around him, pulling him tight against his chest.

"You left," Sehun says. "I didn't know where you--"

"Let's just go," Baekhyun interrupts. "Back to your court." Sehun lets Baekhyun back up after a moment and leaps to his own feet. He bows to Jongdae.

"Prince Jongdae," he says. "My deepest apologies."

"Not necessary, Prince," Jongdae says with a wide grin. "Just watch over that Tamer of yours." Sehun nods and wraps a possessive hand around Baekhyun's upper arm. His grip is quite tight, but it's almost comforting in a way.

"He knows who you are," Sehun whispers.

"That I'm your Tamer?" Baekhyun breath back to him. "He found me after the ritual." Sehun's expression is entirely shocked. He pauses and turns Baekhyun to face him, eyes searching his face.

"Sehun, what are you--?" Baekhyun cuts himself off as he notices someone staring at him over Sehun's shoulder.

"There's something here I can't quite figure out," Sehun says. He throws an arm over Baekhyun's shoulder and continues walking, heading out of Jongdae's court. Baekhyun glances back, craning his neck, but he can't see the face he thought he'd seen anymore. When they're running across hell side-by-side for the second time, Baekhyun can focus on nothing but the sound of their feet over the plains and the face of the figure who had been staring at him.

There's no way she was the Angel of Death, but the resemblance to the woman on Jongdae's tapestry was uncanny.

***

Night Hunt comes and goes, and Baekhyun holes himself in Sehun’s room through it because he has spent only one Night Hunt outside and that was the night he tamed his demon. He shakes as the miasma tugs at him, urging him to enter the gate and crawl through to the human world.

Gates open in Sehun’s room, tiny ones that Baekhyun can’t even fit his hand through, taunting him to try to leave the Hell plane. He tries to call the gates to open with his blood and with Sehun’s blood, but the gates only spin faster, mocking him. 

Even from behind closed doors, Baekhyun is assaulted by the energy in Sehun’s court, the agitation as all of his demons keep themselves locked inside. Sehun had ordered his court to not leave this Night Hunt. He had explained to Baekhyun that his court going to the human world means that inevitably, some of them will die, and with a war on the horizon, he can’t afford to lose anyone.

He had dragged one finger carefully down the line of Baekhyun’s forearm as he said this, and Baekhyun had wondered if he meant his holding his court back from Night Hunt to be a gift.

Baekhyun had not said ‘thank you.’

Sehun had told him the Two Queens’ first attack would come by purple sunrise.

Baekhyun jolts awake to loud knocking from the main door of Sehun’s chambers. He bolts out of Sehun’s bed, practically diving into his clothes and jamming his feet on his boots before he’s out the door, coming to a stop right in front of the demon prince himself. 

Sehun’s expression is dark, and he reaches for Baekhyun immediately, ghosting his fingertips over the line of his jaw. Ever since Baekhyun’s desperate plan to find a Hell queen had led him to Jongdae’s court, Sehun has been more liberal with his touch, his fingers and palms finding countless reason to run sensation over Baekhyun’s skin.

“The Two Queens,” Sehun says in response to Baekhyun’s questioning gaze. “They can’t do much with the gates locked. We’re safe, but we’re stuck here.” A crash interrupts the stillness of Sehun’s rooms, and the castle shakes.

“That doesn’t sound like ‘safe,’” Baekhyun hisses, heading for the doors to the main castle. Sehun grabs his wrist and yanks, forcing Baekhyun to face him. Baekhyun bares his teeth, his fangs dropping from his gums.

“The queens are firing their magic at the walls,” Sehun explains quickly.

“Will the walls fall?” Baekhyun asks.

Sehun’s voice is solemn. “Yes,” he says. “Eventually. But the queens will tire, and then Zitao will lead my court to attack.”

Baekhyun fights against Sehun’s grip on his arm, but Sehun’s claws prick against his skin in a warning. “You have to fight with your court, Sehun!” Baekhyun shouts. “And you can’t fight without me.”

Sehun shifts his grip to Baekhyun’s shoulders. “I have to protect you first,” he declares, voice soft but firm. “I promised to return you to the Earth plane, and I can’t fulfill that if I’m fighting.” He grins then, his fangs on full display. “Besides, this way the Two Queens will be lulled into a sense of security, that I’m too coward to fight them. When that happens, I will strike. My court will not lose.”

Baekhyun settles his hands over the backs of Sehun’s, and he leaves no room for the demon to argue with his words. “If you fight them, I will be right beside you.”

Three days into the siege on Sehun’s court, Seulgi and Irene reappear in the court. With the two duchesses arrival, Sehun’s full court is assembled, and the actual fighting holds strong in Sehun’s demons. The strength of the Court of Two Queens is the Two Queens themselves, and often they do not attack together. Their disregard for the members of their court sickens Sehun, and Baekhyun comforts him as much as he can through the blood exchange.

He takes to standing in the courtyard, watching the flare of magic over the tops of the walls. Sehun had forbidden himself from fighting unless absolutely necessary, but even he couldn’t stay inside when his court was at war. Baekhyun had simply joined him one day, and there was a sort of comfort to standing together while watching a siege unfold.

A gate swirls open, large and foreboding, in the middle of the courtyard, and Baekhyun watches Irene and Seulgi emerge, dressed in human attire and appearing tired but entirely unharmed. 

“Seulgi,” Joy is the first to alert the court to the duchesses’ return. “Irene!” Joy all but throws herself at the other demons, and the three of them collapse to the ground of the courtyard, clutching at each other. Seulgi and Irene both place kisses on each on Joy’s cheeks. They’re both exhausted, their drooping eyelids and slow movements testaments to that. It’s understandable; they were both in the human world for about two weeks. Their only chance to breathe in the miasma, their main life force, was during Night Hunt a few days ago.

“What’s going on?” Irene asks, head turned towards the direction the screaming of the Two Queens’ army is coming from. Both queens are there today, throwing their magic at the walls of the fortress. The shaking of the castle is getting stronger, but the walls have yet to show a crack.

“The Two Queens,” Joy says by way of explanation. Her fellow duchesses nod. “Come inside,” Joy encourages them. “Our court has missed you both greatly.” Joy leads Irene and Seulgi into the castle, and Baekhyun follows after them, Sehun right behind him.

“Where is Wendy?” Seulgi asks as they all troop towards Sehun’s chambers. Joy freezes, dropping her head to stare at the floor.

“Lost,” she whispers. The atmosphere around them all darkens exponentially, and the common room of Sehun’s chambers is deathly quiet as they all seat themselves around the long table. Baekhyun does not fail to notice Irene and Seulgi’s hands clasped tightly together as if this is their final moment together. After hearing new of Joy’s lover’s death, their reaction is not shocking at all.

“The Two Queens are here for my death and Baekhyun’s death,” Sehun starts in immediately on explanations, telling his two duchesses the full story from his entering the Court of Two Queens to their arrival only minutes prior. “Duke Zitao is leading my court against the Two Queens. He’s doing well.” The demon prince speaks of Sulli’s death by Baekhyun’s hand, and he speaks of Yixing’s apparent thirst for Baekhyun’s blood. He doesn’t mention Baekhyun’s time in Prince Jongdae’s court, but he does tell his duchesses of his promise to return Baekhyun to the Earth plane. 

Irene and Seulgi turn their attention on him as Sehun stops talking. Irene settles a hand over Baekhyun’s.

“Kyungsoo asked us to tell you that he’s worried for you,” Irene tells him.

“And that he’s angry Lord Minseok will not orchestrate any rescue efforts for you,” Seulgi adds. Hurt and distrust burn in Baekhyun’s chest, some of it Sehun’s, most of it his own.

“The Lord Tamer wants me to stay in Hell?” he asks for clarification. Both duchesses nod.

“Joonmyun argued with him for hours,” Seulgi says. She rolls her eyes. “He even threatened to take his bond with Prince Chanyeol back from the First Tamer. Lord Minseok’s mind could not be changed.”

“He’s forbidden the Second Tamer from trying to save you too,” Irene whispers. “Our Tamer was suitably furious.”

“The Lord Tamer said that he never approved of your taming of our prince despite giving you his approval upon Joonmyun’s insistence,” Seulgi explains. “Kyungsoo told us to tell you he would help in any way he can, but--”

“But he’s still injured,” Irene cuts in. “His arm is broken still. He’s immortal now, but his healing rate is still only marginally improved by our blood in his body.”

“He promised to speak with his father about changing his mind,” Seulgi finishes on a positive note. “Perhaps he will have better news for us next Night Hunt.” Baekhyun’s shoulder drop. He’s even more stuck than he was only five minutes before. Gatewatchers does not have a second Hell queen under their command, but at least with the Lord Tamer helping, Baekhyun had thought for sure he could go home. At the very least, he thought that Irene and Seulgi would have some plan for him to follow to get him home or that he could use them as messengers to orchestrate his return to the Earth plane.

He should have realized that two weeks in Hell without sign of rescue means one is not forthcoming.

Irene pats his hand, offering him a gentle smile. Baekhyun tugs his hand out from underneath hers, disappointment thick and sour on his tongue.

“I need to go,” he says. “I need--” Baekhyun doesn’t even bother to finish his sentence, practically fleeing for Sehun’s bedroom door. He hears Irene and Seulgi pledging their loyalty to Sehun and offering their assistance in the war against the Two Queens just as he shuts Sehun’s bedroom door behind him.

Apologies and sincere intent to fulfill his promise flood Baekhyun from Sehun’s end of the blood exchange, and he clings on to it, trying to draw some comfort from it. He sits on Sehun’s bed and stares blankly at the wall. Nothing Sehun sends him can cut through the abandonment he feels. He’s a half-demon, but he’s also one of the best Tamers Gatewatchers has ever seen. He doesn’t deserve to be thrown away like this.

Sehun, despite his promises, has no way to send him home, and Baekhyun’s not wanted at home. He can’t hide from that fact any longer. What is ‘home’ anyway? Baekhyun doesn’t think he has one, he just knows he can hardly feel his human side at all, and he doesn’t want to stay here and lose it completely, no matter how well he fits in Sehun’s court.

He remembers Sehun insisting he’s more demon than human, and he remembers using the demon’s own words against him to secure the blood exchange. He hadn’t believed Sehun at the time, but now he can do nothing but believe him.

At this point, Baekhyun isn’t sure he will return to the Earth plane with a human side at all. If he ever makes it back. Right now, the chances of that look pretty slim.

Outside, the war rages on, and the suns rotate in the sky, changing between purple and silver over and over again until Night Hunt arrives again, signaling Baekhyun’s fourth week in Hell has begun.

***

Baekhyun stands at Sehun’s side in the courtyard with what feels like the entirety of Sehun’s court. The demons in the yard are all restless, watching the walls carefully for signs of attack. The previous Night Hunt had been a ceasefire, and so far this one appears to be no different. Sehun orders the gates firmly shut, and none of the demons up on the battlements have reported any signs of the Court of Two Queens.

“My prince,” a low-level speaks, bowing deeply. “Night Hunt will soon begin. Are we allowed?”

“No,” Baekhyun says before Sehun can open his mouth. His demon glances at him, the rising silver sun glowing in his hair. Baekhyun stares back, daring Sehun to challenge him. The prince’s fingers brush against Baekhyun’s own.

“No,” Sehun agrees after a moment, turning back to the member of his court. “It’s too much risk. I need my full court here.”

The low-level bow. “Yes, my prince.”

As the demon goes to spread the prince’s word to his fellow court members, an antsy feeling starts to overcome the rest of the court. The sky is turning black, the silver sun shining brightly through the dark black and red haze of miasma.

“She won’t attack tonight,” Zitao says from Sehun’s otherside. Sehun leans against his duke for a moment, and jealousy simmers in Baekhyun’s stomach. It’s almost natural now, his need to be by Sehun’s side. He’s been living in his demon’s home for weeks, learning the intricacies of his court and earning the respect of Sehun’s demons. Still, the _want_ that burns within him when the demon prince is near continues to fray the stitching of Baekhyun’s human side.

Sehun rests his hand on Baekhyun’s elbow again.

“I shouldn’t risk it,” the prince is saying. Protective instinct from Sehun rises through Baekhyun’s body like the walls that have protected Sehun’s court from the attacks by the Court of Two Queens. His grip on Baekhyun’s arm tightens, and Baekhyun wonders if he can also feel just how much his body calls out for his demon. Their blood exchange is powerful, but Sehun has never regarded the bond between them to be simply that.

Perhaps Baekhyun is beginning to feel the same.

“The court has been stronger like this,” Zitao admits, cutting into Baekhyun’s thoughts. He smirks as he looks out over the lines of guards and groups of low-levels surrounded by mid-levels. “I almost don’t want to say this, but human souls are not necessary.”

Sehun murmurs in agreement. “Still delicious, however.”

Zitao’s grin is feral. “Quite.”

“The Two Queens are letting their court still indulge in Night Hunt,” Sehun says. “It would be easy to attack them now.” The thrill of the prospect of a fight has the hair as the back of Baekhyun’s neck rising. To fight beside Sehun again, to feel the blood exchange at its maximum potential-- Baekhyun is almost yearning to be caught up in the bright flashing of their markings as they work seamlessly side by side.

Baekhyun shakes his head to clear it.

“Why would you attack them?” Baekhyun asks, joining in the prince and his duke’s conversation. “Their court is is not nearly as well protected as yours.” For a second, Baekhyun thinks he hears the word ‘ours’ in his head.

“Baekhyun makes an excellent point,” Zitao says. “There is no reason to put our court into the line of fire until absolutely necessary. We’re still protected here.”

“Even joining in Night Hunt would give the demons of the Two Queens chances to slaughter our own while on the human plane,” Baekhyun adds. He realizes a second later that Sehun is staring at him, a thin thread of shock tugging on him through the blood exchange.

_Our own,_ Baekhyun had said. He doesn’t bother to correct himself; pointing out his mistake would make it even more obvious.

“For now then,” Sehun decides. “We will wait out another Night Hunt and be grateful for one cycle of a silver moon without the Two Queens attacking us.”

“I’ll go tell the duchesses,” Zitao offers. “And we will all spread the word.”

“Thank you, Duke.” Zitao dips his head and strides away.

“He’s a good strategist,” Baekhyun says more to distract himself from the maddening call of Night Hunt than to make actual conversation. Sehun’s hand slides up his arm to rest at the back of his neck, and the warmth of his palm is soothing.

“Are you alright?” he asks. Baekhyun focuses on breathing, but he can’t bring himself to lie to Sehun.

On the Earth plane, Night Hunt had been hours spent fighting his demon side’s desire to go out and consume human souls, to follow the other demons down to Hell. His human side had never wanted anything more than to be a normal Watcher, to fight these demons and be a good Tamer for the organization that had raised him.

In Hell, Night Hunt is Baekhyun’s shredded humanity begging to be returned to the human plane, and his demon side feels like it has finally found its place of belonging right beside Sehun. The urge to press his palm against his demon’s and watch their reflective markings flash in time with their synchronized heartbeats as he breathes in the thick miasma is heady in Baekhyun’s veins. The blood exchange sings a soft tune in the background in a low voice that croons seduction in Baekhyun’s ears.

He wants to return to the Earth plane, but the way he feels here, pressed against Sehun’s side, making his own position in Sehun’s court-- he’s not desperate to leave that.

That old yearning to taste a human soul coats Baekhyun’s throat; Hell gates swirl into existence around the courtyard.

“Stay away from the gates!” Zitao’s voice carries over the sudden clamour that comes with the beginning of Night Hunt. He’s echoed by Joy and Irene and Seulgi as the duchesses hurry to keep low-levels from giving in to the temptation to enter the gates. Mid-levels are better equipped to restrain themselves, but low-levels live solely for the miasma of Hell. If the miasma is travelling to the human plane, then so are they.

To Baekhyun’s left, a hellgate roars to life, red miasma diving for its depths. From this side, Baekhyun can see the stars of the Earth plane’s sky, and he can’t stop himself from walking over to the gate. He hears Sehun call out his name behind him, but Baekhyun doesn’t stop walking. He steps onto the surface of the hellgate, watches it pass under his feet as if he were standing on a layer of glass.

He can’t enter the gate without a Hell queen to approve him for passage. Humans were never intended to enter the gates in the first place.

A low-level screams from its place among the ranks of other demons, and Baekhyun looks up just as he throws himself, claws extended and tongue hanging from his mouth, into the maw of the gate. Baekhyun drops to his knees, grabbing the demon around his ankle. His back shrieks at the strain as Baekhyun hauls the demon upward and out of the gate, flinging him to the edge of the swirling miasma.

The demon scrambles to its feet, snapping his teeth at Baekhyun. The low-level’s eyes are wild and unfocused, and Baekhyun sees his shoulders tense before the low-level is careening forward again. Baekhyun steps forward, bracing himself with an arm out as he meets the low-level mid-stride. His forearm slams into the demon’s abdomen, and he gags, tripping hard into the ground. The low-level crawls to his knees, and Baekhyun steps down hard on his foot, wrapping one hand tightly around the demon’s upper arm.

The demon snarls with his short fangs showing as Baekhyun sinks his claws into the demon’s flesh.

“Stop!” Baekhyun snarls back at the demon. The low-levels eyes go wide open as he freezes, realizing just who is holding him back. Whispers from other demons watching echo around them. _Prince Sehun’s Eternity,_ some say with awe. _The half-blooded Tamer,_ others breathe with a hint of fear to their voices. The low-level in Baekhyun’s grip tucks his tail between his legs as he ducks his head away from Baekhyun’s stare. He tugs on his arm, but Baekhyun keeps his grip firm.

“I ordered the entirety of this court to stay away from the human plane,” Baekhyun hisses. He shakes the low-level harshly. “Are you defying me?”

The low-level’s fear becomes tinged with anger as he meets Baekhyun’s furious glare. “You are not my prince,” he says.

“Your prince is _mine,_ ” Baekhyun hisses. The whispers pause.

“Baekhyun?” rings in the stillness. Sehun stands right behind him; Baekhyun freezes, realizing what he’s done. For him to call Sehun _his_ within the court won’t change what Sehun’s loyalists already think, some believe him to be the receiver of Sehun’s Eternity bond, some believe him to be Sehun’s Tamer, and even if the latter is correct, even Baekhyun himself wonders if maybe the former holds some truth to it. For him to make such a declaration out loud is the denial of the human he has always wanted to be.

Only another demon would want to stay by a demon prince’s side for the grand span of forever.

“I--” Baekhyun stutters, looking up to see his demon standing just beside him. Sehun’s hand soothes over the back of Baekhyun’s grip on the low-level, and Baekhyun retracts his claws immediately. “ _Shit,_ ” he breathes. “He just-- the gate--” Baekhyun doesn’t know what he wants to say-- isn’t sure there is anything he _can_ say.

“I have to go,” he says, all of his rage and need to command authority over Sehun’s court as the prince’s equal draining from him. He steps back, standing smack in the middle of the hellgate. It roars, the miasma reaching up his legs but unable to pull him down. The blood exchange is shouting comfort from Sehun at Baekhyun, but his hands tremble. He can’t be out here where these gates are mocking him, reminding him he can’t go home when every other demon in this courtyard can step onto what should be Baekhyun’s home world without a second thought.

He flees, racing for Sehun’s chambers.

The tapping of his feet over the stones and the torchlights and paintings hung on the walls beside rich velvet curtains all blur together as Baekhyun stumbles as quickly as he can for the only safe haven in this castle. He throws himself into Sehun’s room, his own breathing loud in his ears, and slams the doors shut.

The prickling under his skin from the energy of Night Hunt, from the long-ingrained need to hold himself together and simply survive to the urge to kill and fight, all quiet within him. Baekhyun drags himself forward, dropping heavily onto Sehun’s bed with a sigh of loss. What he’s lost exactly, Baekhyun doesn’t know, but he feels _empty_ and stuck in solitude.

_I’m never going back,_ some nasty part of himself says. Baekhyun scoots back on Sehun’s bed as if he can escape his own pessimistic mentality. Being here, in Sehun’s court, forever, doesn’t sound as uninviting as it should. Everything is right and wrong here, and Baekhyun doesn’t know up and down from who he is and isn’t.

A knock sounds from the door, and concern wraps its arm around Baekhyun’s heart. The thrum of the blood exchange is a comfort where it once, what feels like a lifetime ago, was a terror.

“Baekhyun,” Sehun calls out, pushing aside the door to step in. Baekhyun looks a pitiful mess, sitting with his knees tucked up to his chest and his face buried in his hands, but he’s too distraught to rearrange himself to be more presentable to his demon. Sehun can feel his innermost thoughts and emotions anyway, has probably been suffering from all of Baekhyun’s turmoil the past few weeks. Hiding from him now is pointless. “Baekhyun, it’s alright,” Sehun tries again. He takes a few tentative steps forward, the sharp tap of his shoes on the stone floor muffled once he reaches the rug under his bed. It’s then that Baekhyun looks up.

“I am your demon,” Sehun continues. “You can call me ‘yours.’ My court--”

“Your court!” Baekhyun bursts out. “ _Yours._ Not mine.” Sehun red eyes look wounded, yet still he reaches out for Baekhyun, settling a hand on his knee. Baekhyun is not a stranger to Sehun’s touch, not after he ran from his demon’s court once, and too feel it now is more comfort than any emotion Sehun can flood their blood exchange with.

Demons are creatures built for physical proximity, and Baekhyun wants to hate how much he craves it.

“Mine,” Sehun agrees. “My court. But I have told them you are to be treated as if you were my duke. They know to listen--”

“I wanted to punish him,” Baekhyun cuts in, voice low and shaking. “I feel so out of control, so free, here.”

Sehun’s grip shifts on Baekhyun’s knee. “And this isn’t a good thing?” he inquires. Baekhyun shakes his head.

“I love it,” he whispers, hiding his face to hide his shame. He’s called himself human for years, and yet one month on the Hell plane has destroyed that careful human shell he built for himself. “I almost can’t remember what my humanity feels like, and it’s insane. But still I’m scared, and there’s so much that I _need_ like this. I’m too demon, too--”

“I will get you home,” Sehun interrupts. He’s quiet, but the reminder of his promise is enough to balance Baekhyun, to give him something to hold onto and anchor himself to. He twists his hand in Sehun’s sheets. “I promised you, and I haven’t given up.”

Baekhyun reaches out for Sehun with his opposite hand, trailing his fingers over the lines of Sehun’s collarbones. “I know you haven’t,” he says. “But now-- especially now, with Night Hunt-- I don’t feel as if that’s enough.”

Sehun’s face is nothing if not sympathetic, his hand sliding down so that the tips of his fingers sit against the inside of Baekhyun’s knee. Through the thin material of Baekhyun’s pants, the warmth of Sehun’s hand is impossible to ignore.

He swallows. “I always--” he begins, tangling his thumb in one of the ties on Sehun’s shirt. “I always want to be near you, in your presence. And sometimes--” He cuts himself off again, and Sehun shifts, pulling Baekhyun against his side and settling one hand against Baekhyun’s jaw. Baekhyun breathes out his confession. “Sometimes I want you more than I want to go back to the Earth plane.”

Sehun stills. “Baekhyun.” His voice is gentle around the hard consonants, his hands even softer on either side of Baekhyun’s face. “I have wanted you since the moment I saw you. Don’t you remember?”

He does; he couldn’t forget Sehun’s proposal to make Baekhyun his and drag him down to Hell to be his plaything if he wanted to. He’s tried; it would be easier to pretend the option never existed, that Baekhyun has ever been anything but human. But Sehun’s words are burned into Baekhyun more deeply than the marks on his arms that bond them together, and Baekhyun can’t run from his demon half when he’s been living as if he’s a member of Sehun’s court for the past couple weeks.

“This blood exchange, Night Hunt, you being here,” Sehun lists. “It doesn’t make me want you less at all.”

“You hated me,” Baekhyun breathes, confused.

“I confess to that,” Sehun says. “I’m a prince, and you took power over me. A taming isn’t something I ever thought I would have to face. Then you came to my aid; you haven’t tried to be the prince here. You haven’t made me want you to leave.” Baekhyun doesn’t want to think about what Sehun really means, that Sehun wants him to stay.

“I tamed you because I knew I couldn’t kill you,” Baekhyun murmurs. “And now I still can’t kill you without killing myself.”

“You’re selfish like that, wanting to live even though it would better for your Lord Tamer if you died,” Sehun says. “Like a demon.” His hands slide down Baekhyun’s arms, and Baekhyun doesn’t bother to fight off the shiver that runs through him and urges him to be closer to the demon prince. He’s the one who wanted Sehun with him here originally; he’s the one seeking comfort.

“How could you have wanted me then?” Baekhyun asks, trying to ignore Sehun’s words ringing in his head. _Like a demon._ “If you hated me.”

“Demons are physical creatures-- I know you know that,” Sehun answers. “I didn’t have like to like you to want you.”

“I guess I’m human in that aspect then,” Baekhyun whispers. “I hated you, and I did not want you.”

“I don’t hate you now, Baekhyun,” the demon prince murmurs. “Far from that.” Sehun is close, so close. “Do you hate me?” His breath fans across Baekhyun’s cheek as he prompts again, “Do you?” 

Everything from ‘I don’t hate you’ to ‘I don’t know how to be without you’ races through Baekhyun’s head. It’s overwhelming, and he tightens his fist in the fabric of Sehun’s shirt. Their eyes meet, and Sehun whispers, “it’s alright.”

Baekhyun leans in, and the first press of his lips against Sehun’s is like relief and like danger. It’s a tantalizing mix, and the blood exchange sings in the sweetest falsetto. Baekhyun shifts, sliding his hands up Sehun’s chest, up his neck, across his pulse, and into his hair. Sehun’s kisses feel like _finally_ and taste like _maybe_ , and Baekhyun thinks eternity isn’t so far away.

He twists his fingers in Sehun’s hair, and Sehun’s hands are warm on his waist, pulling Baekhyun flush against him. Baekhyun leans fully into Sehun, and they tumble back, the blood exchange singing as they drag their hands over markings and unblemished skin, scars and the shadows of the contour of a muscle. Sehun has the finesse to pull Baekhyun’s shirt over his head; Baekhyun shreds Sehun’s away from his body with his claws. 

The blood exchange changes key, and Baekhyun’s stretching his neck, seeking more of Sehun’s lips against his skin, the sharp drag of his teeth over the angle of his collarbones. Baekhyun arches up, pressing his body into Sehun’s touch.

“Will you continue to deny who I am?” Sehun asks, his tongue flicking over Baekhyun’s hipbones and hands quick to pull his pants down his legs.

“You are my demon, and I am your Tamer,” Baekhyun manages around a sigh. Sehun’s fingers dig into his thighs; his lips suck deeper marks into the bruises left behind by his thumbs. “And here the roles are reversed.” Sehun hums, pleased, against the inside of Baekhyun’s thigh.

“Someday I want the answer to be something else,” Sehun whispers, and before Baekhyun can formulate a reply, can ask what ‘something else’ might be, Sehun’s mouth is hot around him, fingers pulling him apart and piecing him back together, begging Baekhyun to trust him now just as much as he does in the middle of a fight.

Baekhyun trusts his demon; he trusts him more than he trusts himself. 

It’s slower, more careful than Baekhyun anticipated. Sehun’s touch is something Baekhyun almost regrets denying. The pleasure that he feels as Sehun works him open is more than just physical, and that is as thrilling as it is terrifying.

When Sehun works his way back up Baekhyun’s body, it’s so easy for Baekhyun’s legs to settle around his waist and pull him in. When Baekhyun’s fingers are twisting in the sheets, desperate to hold onto something, it’s so easy for Sehun to slip his own fingers between the gaps in Baekhyun’s and give him something to cling to. When Baekhyun comes, it is alongside Sehun with the blood exchange singing a song of fulfilment and need.

Baekhyun remembers it as the moments he forgot the sour taste of loneliness. He flexes his fingers around Sehun’s, and mumbles a command for the blood exchange against his demon’s mouth.

“ _Connect._ ”

When Night Hunt finally draws to a close, Baekhyun and Sehun’s fingers are still linked, now pressed to the pillows over Sehun’s head as Baekhyun rocks his hips down, chasing release with Sehun’s hand in his.

Amidst all the things that Baekhyun thinks he should find wrong about Hell, this, being with Sehun, is one indisputable right. Sehun’s arms around him are protection, comfort, and something like the home that Baekhyun has never had. He holds on to that truth and to Sehun as he falls into dreaming, wrapped in an embrace that rings with a song whose only lyrics are _don’t go._


	3. Chapter 3

__

# It Amplifies...

__

Waking in Sehun’s arms with the markings on their arms perfectly aligned and their fingers linked is the most surreal experience, but it’s one that Baekhyun becomes accustomed to easily. It becomes routine for him to press himself against Sehun’s back or chest before he sleeps, hands splayed across Sehun’s skin just to feel the warmth of his body and the gentle double tap of his heartbeat.

Still, as comfortable as it is to be Sehun’s and not just Sehun’s Tamer, the attacks on Sehun’s court are worsening, parts of his fortress crumbling with the damage. Zitao has finally brought up the idea of a counterattack, and no one is any closer to any idea of how to get Baekhyun back to the Earth plane.

Referring to it as ‘home’ is out of the question in Baekhyun’s mind, but the plane he’s stuck in isn’t quite home either. It’s more hostile than even the Human plane. 

Even with the progression in his relationship with his demon giving Baekhyun a sense of calm, a way to allow his negative thoughts to be kissed from his skin, the sounds of war constantly ringing outside the court walls and the buzz of nerves and anticipation for a fight within the walls gets to Baekhyun just as much as it does other members of Sehun’s court.

“Joy,” Baekhyun says, pausing in his wandering the corridors. The duchess looks just as on edge as Baekhyun feels, her expression as aimless as Baekhyun’s own. “Would you care to spar with me?”

The duchess opens her mouth, a quiet sound of surprise escaping her. “You want to fight me?”

“It helps,” Baekhyun assures her, making a general gesture towards the courtyard. It takes the demon only a moment before she’s nodding in agreement.

“Come with me,” she says. “I know a good place for a _friendly_ spar.” Her emphasis on the word ‘friendly’ is said with something wicked in her tone, and Baekhyun does not expect the duchess to be an easy win. Sehun’s respect for Joy is warning enough that she is not a foe to be trifled with, but the length and curve of her claws dispels any doubt Baekhyun may have had.

Joy’s tail swishes merrily behind her, the mutilated end brushing over Baekhyun’s knees as she leads him somewhere deep within the castle.

“Zitao won’t mind, I think,” she says, grinning. She pushes open the door to a wide open room. The ceilings aren’t particularly high, but the space is empty.

Joy gestures for Baekhyun to follow her inside, and he’s shocked when his feet sink just the slightest bit into the stone ground. In fact, it’s almost like he’s walking on a sparring mat. He crouches, pressing his fingertips into the floor to gauge its give.

“Magic,” Joy explains before Baekhyun can ask. “Wendy did it for Zitao a long time ago. He’s a bit like you-- unable to hold still for too long.” Baekhyun glances up in surprise.

“But with her being Lost,” Baekhyun asks, prodding gently at the mat-like padding on the floor. “How is this still here?” Joy steps past him, tearing her long skirt away. Standing in a tunic and leggings, she looks every inch the capable duchess she’s proved herself to be many times over in the few weeks Baekhyun has been here.

“Power cannot simply die,” Joy says after a moment. Baekhyun is reminded of Sehun’s words from what feels like a lifetime ago, his theory that the Demon King still lives and is merely in hiding. “It does not have life; it is simply _power._ It can be transferred to someone new, but it will never cease to exist just because Wendy is no longer--”

“I understand,” Baekhyun cuts her off. Joy takes a breath, and the heavy feeling in the room gives way to one that is sharp, focused. Baekhyun moves to stand opposite the duchess. Her eyes are calculating as she gives Baekhyun a once over. He shifts himself into a protective stance. He has no idea how Joy fights; he has to be ready for any sort of attack she may throw. A minute or two passes. Joy scoffs and tosses her hair back over her shoulder.

“Come on, Baekhyun,” the duchess teases, rocking back on her heels. “I haven’t got an entire purple sun to waste on you.”

Baekhyun doesn’t move. He always waits for his opponent to cave and attack first, but it seems Joy has a similar strategy, standing on the balls of her feet, light and waiting for any movements Baekhyun makes. Baekhyun takes one step forward, testing the duchess, and she mirrors him, the distance between them closing. She’s not quite in reach yet, but one lunge and a swipe of his hand would leave blood dripping down the front of Joy’s dress.

Baekhyun feigns left and swoops in on the right. Joy is right there to meet him, her eyes trained on his face as she blocks his hit with her forearm.

She’s trying to read his next movement in his eyes. Baekhyun knows how to fool with that. He flicks his gaze to the duchesses’ neck, and she shifts to defend herself. Baekhyun swipes a foot across the floor, catching Joy’s ankle. She stumbles back, and Baekhyun shove hard, using her grip on his forearm to throw her. 

Joy rolls, springing back onto her feet before Baekhyun can reach her, and she dives forward, barrelling through his block. Her claws are sharp pain across his stomach, and Baekhyun twists with her, spinning away to reduce the damage.

His skin with close up in seconds; his shirt, however, will need some mending.

Joy smirks at him, her pretty space lit with the thrill of a fight.

“Duck, Baekhyun,” she calls. She leaps into the air, and Baekhyun follows her instructions, dropping down onto his back. Joy comes down claws first, and Baekhyun kicks up, his toes digging into the duchess’s stomach. She coughs, and he grunts with the effort it takes to fling Joy back and out of his way. He hears her land, feet sliding across the ground, and Baekhyun is on his feet to meet the duchess’s next attack just before her claws tear into his cheek.

She’s not pulling her punches, and Baekhyun appreciates it. The pain from each hit he takes, the satisfaction of his knuckles cracking across her skin, all of it releases the pent up tension of being stuck in a castle on the verge of another fight.

Another hard clash, and Baekhyun is just beginning to gain the upperhand from sheer, physical strength alone. Their styles are similar, and though Joy is just the slightest bit quicker, Baekhyun can throw her far enough to make her speed irrelevant. 

“You don’t go down, do you?” Joy laughs, adjusting her stance. Baekhyun watches her reset her weight onto the balls of her feet, watching for an attack.

“I’ll go down if I’m beaten,” Baekhyun answers. “But I’m not beaten until I’m down, unable to move.”

“How deep,”Joy murmurs. Her last consonant is harsh, and that’s enough warning for Baekhyun to duck, sliding forward on his knees. Joy's claws scrape just barely over his scalp, and Baekhyun grabs her tail, yanking down hard. The duchess lets out a scream, collapsing down on her knees. Baekhyun throws himself over her, pressing her down against the ground. His knees dig in just above her own, and Joy snarls with the pain, her claws flexing. Baekhyun drops his full weight onto her, grabbing Joy’s wrists and pinning them above her head. The duchess struggles to move, snapping her teeth as Baekhyun, but he holds firm. Their breathing is harsh, echoing off the stone walls.

“You win,” Joy grits out between clenched teeth. “You win. Let me up!” Baekhyun pauses a moment, watching Joy’s claws retract before he does as she asks.

He wasn't careful enough. The instant he releases Joy's wrists, her fist comes at him from the side and drives into the underside of his jaw. Baekhyun flips back, shoulders crashing hard against the ground. Joy gets to her feet, and she stands over him, holding out a hand to help him up. Baekhyun lets out a short laugh.

"Good fight," Joy says, a little breathless with exertion. "You're good."

Slow clapping interrupts them. Baekhyun scrambles to his feet and turns to see Zitao standing at the entrance to the room, the toes of his boots just sinking into the charmed floor.

"Ah, Joy, my dear, dear duchess," Zitao says. "I haven't see you fight like that in ages." He steps inside, approaching them with his body tensed. The tension in the air from the spar setting him on edge as much as it does Baekhyun.

Joy laughs. "I haven't had a reason to." She smiles. "But it seems our dear prince's Tamer does know what he's doing."

Zitao applauds again, a smirk curling up the corner of his mouth. "Of that I have no doubt. None of us have ever beaten Prince Sehun in a fight. However, the aggression you displayed-- _that_ is what I haven't seen in awhile."

"Well when you're the court's sweetheart," she says. "You can't exactly be aggressive all the time, can you?"

Zitao shakes his head. "I suppose not. Though a strategist doesn't need to know much about wooing his prince's demons."

"No," Joy agrees.

"I imagine, and forgive me for saying so, you had a lot of grief to let out," Zitao offers. "Even you must let go of such sweetness for a time and just--"

"I've been in mourning for days upon days," Joy cuts in. "I think my aggression, as you said, was more due to the fact that I haven't _moved_ since this war started." She glances down at the ground, dark hair falling around her face. "I'll never be the same since Wendy's Loss, and it will always hurt. But I can move forward still. All I needed was--" She looks over at Baekhyun. "Well, a kick. I suppose." She offers Baekhyun a wink and rubs at her shoulder. He remembers the roundhouse that had thrown her nearly clear across the room. Joy is strong fighter; Baekhyun is just used to opponents of another caliber-- opponents like Sehun.

"Well," Zitao continues, far to airily for the subject matter. "I think it would be quite difficult to hear second hand that your lover has been killed."

Joy nods. "It was," she states stiffly. "But I've already heard, so we don't need to talk about it any further."

"Wait," Baekhyun interrupts. "I'm curious about something you said."

"What is it?" Joy asks. He offers her an apologetic look before he turns attention on Zitao.

"What did you mean when you said 'finding out secondhand?" he asks. "Unless you're there and you saw it happen, you would have to be told secondhand."

"Not with an Eternity," Zitao explains. "You do know, and I'm certain my prince has told you considering the strange nature of your blood exchange, what that it?" Baekhyun offers him a nod in recognition of the term.

"A romantic bond between two demons," Baekhyun murmurs. "Yes, I know of it."

"Two demons in an Eternity," Zitao says. "Can feel each other so acutely that if someone were to _cough,_ the other would know of it. Death, feeling your partner die, is considered the most traumatic experience any demon could go through as it is also the death of that bond. It doesn't kill us, but it hurts." He looks at Joy, and the duchess has her arms wrapped around herself, holding together as Zitao speaks. "At least, that's what I've been told," Zitao finishes.

"You've never been in an Eternity," Baekhyun states.

"No," Zitao confirms with a shake of his head. He breathes. "There was a time a while ago when I used to think that Prince Sehun would ask me to enter into an Eternity with him." He laughs. "But, as I discovered, that was not meant to be. Obviously." He gestures at Baekhyun, and Baekhyun can't offer him any condolences. Something in him is fiercely glad that Sehun had not asked Zitao to be his.

"Fate knows what she's doing," Joy suggests, re-entering the conversation. "Baekhyun is a far better match for our prince, don't you think?" Zitao regards her coolly.

"Of course, Duchess."

"Sehun and I aren't in an Eternity," Baekhyun blurts out suddenly.

"That's right," Zitao says. "You're not. I don't know if you even can." His voice is bitter, biting. Joy’s expression is torn between disapproval and aching sadness, and Baekhyun fights to keep his claws sheathed. He doesn’t need to fight with the duke; Sehun already belongs to him. The manner in which he does, however, is not one that these demons recognize.

“An Eternity is a bond between two _demons,_ ” Zitao reiterates. “And that leads us back to your original question. Joy heard second-hand of her paramour’s death because Wendy was a hell queen.”

“That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t have lasted forever,” Joy hisses at the duke. Her eyes are sharp, demanding his silence. There’s only a flicker of apology on Zitao’s face, his jealousy still sour in the air. “Love doesn’t need an Eternity to be real,” she says. She turns to look at Baekhyun. “Or am I mistaken?”

 _I wouldn’t know,_ Baekhyun wants to say.

“This isn’t one of the humans’ fairy tales, Duchess,” Zitao sneers. Baekhyun considers dragging his claws down the duke’s face until the curved tips shatter his cheekbones. 

“It’s the truth,” Joy says. “Why are you here, Duke Zitao? Did you come with the purpose of antagonizing me?” 

“Am I not allowed in my own room?” Zitao asks, eyebrows raised. He turns back to Baekhyun. “I just think it works best between demons. Eternity or love, whichever you want to call it. There’s a push and pull. A give and take. It all evens out.” His words come across as a challenge, a dare for Baekhyun to defy him even as Joy’s eyes are shining with unshed tears.

Baekhyun blinks.

A push and pull? What if--?

“I need to go,” Baekhyun says, ignoring the duke’s apparent need for a fight. He bows to Joy. “Thank you for the spar.” He shoves past Zitao as he runs out the door, grabbing his boots and coat. 

“Where are you going?” Zitao shouts after him. Baekhyun doesn’t stop, doesn’t turn to answer. He’s already focused on his goal of reaching Sehun before this thought can slip from his mind. His breathing and the rhythm of his own footsteps pound in his ears.

“Sehun,” he shouts, nearly breathless as he bursts into his demon’s common room. Sehun glances up at him from where he’s been talking to a few mid-levels.

“Dismissed,” Sehun says with a sharp jerk of his head towards the door. The demons scatter, rushing past Baekhyun in their haste to obey their prince. Baekhyun shuts the doors behind them, walking up to his demon. The blood exchange raises its head, humming softly at their proximity.

“I know the answer,” Baekhyun breathes. “I know how to get me back to the human plane.” Sehun’s posture, the slight leaning in towards Baekhyun, the straight shoulders, the hand halfway reaching for Baekhyun’s hip, freezes and slumps. 

“I see,” he says. The memory of his promise tastes bitter on Baekhyun’s tongue. “And how do you think I can do this?” His words are awkward, stilted. Hesitant but honor bound to follow through with he had promised Baekhyun, and Baekhyun feels sick for it. 

“The rules are reversed,” he explains, pushing forward because if he pauses any longer, he’s likely to forget the solution, and he’s likely to not want to remember it. “The rules of taming and calling. Ever since you called me to Hell, the entire system of our blood exchange is reversed.”

Sehun raises an eyebrow.

“You called me down here,” Baekhyun presses on. “You acted as _my _Tamer. If we were on the Earth plane, I would be the one to call you because of the blood exchange. I called you because you’re my _demon._ That’s how it works.”__

__“That’s how it’s always worked, Baekhyun,” Sehun interrupts. “That’s not going to get you back.” He doesn’t say the word home, and some part of Baekhyun is glad for it._ _

__“It’s a technicality, Sehun,” Baekhyun tells him. “I can call you to Earth because of my human blood. You called me to Hell because of your demon blood.”_ _

__“Demons can’t call humans,” Sehun says. “We’ve tried.”_ _

__“You didn’t call me as a human,” Baekhyun says quietly. He doesn’t need to elaborate any further; Sehun’s eyes widen in understanding, and his lips twist up in a ghost of a smile. “And you can’t leave the human plane without my direction. I have to _send_ you. So it makes sense that you would have to send me too.”_ _

__Sehun steps back. “I don’t know how to,” he protests. “I don’t know how taming works from the Tamer’s end of it. I am a demon. I am called, and I am sent. I don’t--”_ _

__“You didn’t know how to call me either, but you did it anyway,” Baekhyun states. He looks hard at Sehun, meeting his gaze. The blood exchange lifts an octave. “You needed me, and you called for me.”_ _

__“I’m not a Tamer,” Sehun insists._ _

__Baekhyun reaches out and grabs Sehun’s wrist, using his demon as an anchor to ground himself. “It’s not about you being a Tamer,” Baekhyun whispers. His fangs are sharp against his lower lip. “It’s about me being a demon.”_ _

__Sehun is silent._ _

__“Taming is based on instinct,” Baekhyun says. “It’s based on this concept that Tamers hold a portion of their demons blood within them, and that creatures as possessive as demons are would want to reclaim that blood. So when a Tamer opens the markings on his arm, it gives demons the chance to reclaim that blood. It’s a play on the instincts of demons.”_ _

__“So you took my blood to be able to call me.” Sehun glances down at Baekhyun’s grip on his wrist and tugs, linking their fingers together instead. Like this, the markings on their arms are a mirror of each other. The wing on Baekhyun’s shoulder warms._ _

__“And you took mine,” Baekhyun answers. “It’s a blood _exchange._ ” Protest swims in Baekhyun’s mind at his words, Sehun’s belief that what they share is not a blood exchange at all curling around his thoughts. _ _

__“If you can call me,” Baekhyun insists. “Then you can send me.”_ _

__“I can’t open a gate!” Sehun bursts out, his words edged in a growl. “Only a hell queen can open a human gate.”_ _

__“Have you not been listening to me?” Baekhyun returns. “I’m not asking you to send me through a human gate.” He pants, and Sehun breathes; the room is quiet, their ears ringing with Baekhyun’s words. “When you called me, I only assisted you in opening the gate. I only know how to open demon gates, Sehun. Wendy used the gate we opened and made it into a human gate for Kyungsoo to go back. I did not come here in the first place using a human gate.”_ _

__Sehun’s grip on Baekhyun’s hand falls loose. “You can’t open a gate for yourself from here,” Sehun murmurs. “Even if I open it, you can’t send yourself back.” He glances away. “This won’t work.”_ _

__“It _will,_ ” Baekhyun snaps. “A Tamer on the human plane can help, just like what I did when you first called me.” He’s right, and he knows Sehun knows that he’s right. Sehun’s hesitance to agree is his reluctance to let Baekhyun leave. Baekhyun swallows. He’s finally found a way to go back, but it’s doesn’t feel like finding a way to go home._ _

__“I’ll call Zitao and the duchesses then,” Sehun says. His voice is quiet and resigned. His unhappiness is sharp pain in Baekhyun’s chest._ _

__“Not yet,” Baekhyun hears himself say before he can register the words. “Just wait a moment.” Sehun reaches for him then, his hand settling along the curve of Baekhyun’s cheek. Baekhyun twists his fingers in Sehun’s shirt, tangling his grip in the ties and stepping in closer to Sehun._ _

__“I will wait then,” Sehun says. His other hand settles on Baekhyun’s waist, and the blood exchange sings something slow and mournful. If Sehun were to ask him to not leave, Baekhyun isn’t sure he’d be able to refuse him. Sehun promised to send Baekhyun to the Earth plane, however, and he won’t back out of that promise._ _

__Baekhyun wants to kiss Sehun, to thank him, to be closer to him before they work out the details that will end in them returned to their rightful planes, but he doesn’t want his demon to taste the regret in his mouth._ _

__As he stands there, pressed close to his demon, Baekhyun realizes any excitement he feels is more about finding out if his theory is correct. The dread dragging cold fingers down his back is at the very idea of leaving Sehun behind. The blood exchange keens._ _

____

***

Sehun’s common room buzzes with anticipation that Baekhyun feels in his own body. He can’t sit perfectly still, tapping his fingers against his knee or his heel against the ground in an effort to let go of some of the tension trying to tie him in knots. He forces his expression blank; he’s had enough practice with this, at least, for Sehun to not give him another glance.

Joy sits next to Baekhyun, her eyes sharp and focused, even if Baekhyun can feel her urge to fight simmering next to him. Zitao sits opposite of Joy, and though Baekhyun can’t see his expression without turning his head, he can see the way he shifts every so often with the urge to say something. This is a strategy meeting after all, and that is the duke’s strongpoint. 

Sehun’s fingers slide down the outside of Baekhyun’s thigh underneath the table, his fingers curling around the Tamer’s wrist. 

“Where are Irene and Seulgi?” the demon prince asks of his two contracts. Zitao rolls his eyes. Joy clears her throat.

“After having been in the human plane for so long,” she starts.

“The miasma,” Sehun says. “I see.” His thumb soothes over Baekhyun’s palm. A rush of excitement runs through Baekhyun, but it’s not his or Sehun’s. In contact like this, the blood exchange thrumming strong between them, it’s easy for Baekhyun to peek into Sehun’s connections with his demons. He forces himself to not lean too closely to Sehun as the residue of Irene’s orgasm settles in his stomach. His lets his claws lengthen, and he drags just the tip of his index finger down the inside of Sehun’s thumb in warning. 

The demon prince releases Baekhyun immediately, indignation flashing over the blood exchange. 

Joy and Zitao both give Sehun a questioning gaze. 

“A few minutes,” he answers their unspoken question. 

Zitao grumbles. “This is war,” he says. “They’re taking it too lightly.”

“You really don’t understand romance,” Joy scoffs at him. “Far more interested in rank and physical compatibility.” Zitao bares his teeth at her, growling in the back of his throat. Joy’s torn tail lashes out behind her. 

“I thought I told you both to settle this,” Sehun says before any other words can be shared between the duchess and duke. “This is war. We don’t need civil disputes right now.” Zitao’s expression instantly becomes apologetic, but Joy meets her prince’s disapproval with her own.

“I’m not going to cause problems in our fight against the Two Queens,” she promises. “I’m also not going to let this hooligan continue to insult me because he’s jealous. If there’s anyone here who should settle something, my prince, it is you and your duke.” She dips her head as if to offer an apology to Sehun, and Baekhyun grabs Sehun’s elbow at his rage at her apparent display of disrespect.

“Not now,” he hisses. Sehun turns sharply to look at him, and Baekhyun meets his stare. “You asked for there to be no disputes within your court. Don’t cause one right before this.” Sehun shows the tips of his fangs, and Baekhyun can feel how much he wants to argue, to remind Baekhyun that he is the prince here, that Baekhyun should listen to him. Baekhyun tugs on the blood exchange, a reminder that this is to ensure he has a way to get back onto the Earth plane. 

Sehun exhales. “I will speak with you both later,” he says to his duke and duchess. Their lips curl up. “Separately. Alone.” 

The doors to Sehun’s common area open, and the two absent duchesses come in in a mess of tangled hair and fingers, their dresses gaping to show cleavage. 

“I apologize, my prince,” Irene pants. “We were--”

“Everyone knows, Duchess,” Joy interrupts.

“Sit,” Sehun instructs. “There is much to discuss.”

Irene and Seulgi share a giggle before they take their places at opposite sides of the table, Seulgi at Joy’s side and Irene at Zitao’s. Like this, the four highest ranked members of Sehun’s court sitting around their prince, Baekhyun feels a harsh jolt in his gut.

He doesn’t fit here. He shouldn’t be sitting at Sehun’s side. This is no place for a Tamer.

“The third Night Hunt since Baekhyun’s arrival is approaching,” Sehun begins. “We haven’t see the Two Queens at all during the past two Night Hunts.” He glances at Zitao. “Should we expect this pattern again for the third?”

Zitao shakes his head. “We’ve seen them multiple times since you returned to your court, though,” Sehun says. “Neither of them are particularly well-known for strategic attacks. They’ve got a huge court. Their power comes from blunt force.”

“But how does that affect the next Night Hunt?” Seulgi asks, adjusting her dress. Irene winks at her, and Joy makes a face at both of them. 

Zitao taps his fingers on the table. “This may be a rather bold claim, as my prince knows the Two Queens far better than I do, but.” He pauses, and Sehun gives him a nod to continue. “I would venture to say the Two Queens are trying to lull my prince into a sense of calm during Night Hunt. The last two Night Hunts were without attack for them to regain strength for their court and also to make us think that every Night Hunt will be without battle.”

“They could have been expecting to battle us on the Earth plane,” Joy cuts in. She glances over Irene and Seulgi. “Can either of you confirm this? You were the only ones on the human plane during the past two Night Hunts.”

Irene shakes her head. “Any members of the Court of Two Queens were acting rather strangely,” she says. “They would dart out to take human souls, but they wouldn’t fight with anyone. And they especially avoided the Watchers.”

“Demons are never exactly waiting for Watchers to find them,” Baekhyun says. “Or if they are, it’s for the purpose of killing them.” He thinks back to the raging hellfire Sehun had emerged from and remembers him taking Yerim’s soul before he’d even completely emerged from the gate.

“Demons do not turn from fights either,” Zitao interjects. He stares at Baekhyun with a slight flare to his nostrils as if scolding a child. Baekhyun feels the slight ache of his fangs threatening to drop. Zitao waves his hand at his prince. “Not unless we are given explicit directions to not fight.” The others nod in agreement with what Zitao says. 

The duke takes a breath and continues. “Most likely the Two Queens have ordered their court to remain alive and out of human hands. Most likely they expect us to not expect them to fight during this next Night Hunt.” He stares at Baekhyun again. “If we are planning to somehow send this Tamer home, then we are at great risk of fighting the Two Queens directly.”

Baekhyun’s heart freezes in his chest, and his grip on Sehun’s arm tightens. He doesn’t particularly want Sehun to point the members of his court into the direct line of fire, but he also needs to go back. Sehun places his hand over Baekhyun’s, and understanding floods the blood exchange. 

“We have no other option but during a Night Hunt,” Sehun says. “That is the only time the lines between the two planes are blurred enough for a Tamer to go through.”

“We still don’t have a hell queen,” Joy whispers, her voice cracking. Her eyes are downcast, and Baekhyun almost feels lead to reach out to her, to comfort her, but that is something a demon does for a fellow demon. He shouldn’t. He thinks of the small vial he had placed in the folds of his shirt before this meeting started, and he wonders if it matters anymore, if even he does not know the side on which he stands.

 _Human,_ a quiet part of him says. _Demon,_ a part of him that speaks with Sehun’s voice retorts. 

“Baekhyun has a theory,” Sehun tells her. He doesn’t elaborate, and for that, Baekhyun is grateful.

“So you will be sending him back?” Seulgi asks. She eyes Baekhyun carefully, and Baekhyun is not surprised that she and Irene seem to have understood the theory without Sehun or Baekhyun explaining. They’ve been in a blood exchange for over a century; they probably understand the theories of taming better than Baekhyun does.

“I will try,” Sehun states. His voice is firm, radiating confidence. A shiver of unease raises the hair at the nape of Baekhyun’s neck, and he shifts to lean only slightly against his demon, offering him silent encouragement. It’s selfish of him to want to return to the Earth plane so badly when it’s so easy to be by Sehun’s side, but then, Sehun is always telling him he’s more demon for it.

Maybe the demon prince is proud of Baekhyun making demands; a glance at the blood exchange tells Baekhyun that’s not even marginally close to the truth.

“Will you be able to send him back within the gates?” Zitao asks. “We can hide away from the Two Queens again then. There’s no reason to risk the court if we don’t need to.”

“I don’t know,” Sehun says. He looks at Baekhyun, and the Tamer bites his lip.

“Sehun will need an already existing gate to send me through,” he says. “As a demon, I don’t think he can create one.”

“You’ll have to use one already started by a Tamer,” Irene breathes. She gestures between herself and Seulgi. “We can ask Kyungsoo. He wants you back as much as Joonmyun and your friend do. I’m sure he would be willing.”

“The problem is that we never know where a gate will open without a direct connection between a Tamer and a demon,” Seulgi says. “Without Baekhyun and Kyungsoo sharing a blood exchange, Kyungsoo will only be able to open a gate in the vicinity of the court through his bond with us.”

Baekhyun nods, and the vial tucked away in his clothing feels like it weighs more than one of the stone blocks that make up this castle.

“So it’s likely my prince will be sending him back in the middle of a battle,” Zitao sighs. “I see.” 

Baekhyun slips his hand down Sehun’s arms to wrap his fingers around Sehun’s wrist the way his demon had done to him earlier. “It’s not ideal,” he tells the duke. “If there were another way, I would take it.”

“You’re too impatient for that,” Zitao sneers.

Joy clears her throat from across from the duke, her tail lashing again. “Do you have no faith in yourself?” she asks. “Or us?” She gestures between herself and the other two duchesses present. “We can easily protect our prince and his Tamer from any attack the Two Queens may throw at us.” Irene and Seulgi nod in agreement with Joy’s words. 

“If this is what our prince wants to do for his Tamer,” Irene says. “Then we will help him in any way he needs. We’ve sworn to do so.” Zitao growls at her, the dull thud of his fingers tapping repeatedly on the table becoming agitated clicks of his claw tips. Seulgi snarls at him at the first sign of aggression against her Eternity. 

“Or do you want to break your contract?” Seulgi snaps at Zitao. She looks seconds from lunging at the duke from across the table. Her eyes flick from his to Irene. 

_This,_ Baekhyun thinks. _Is the protectiveness of an Eternity._ Something burns in his chest: the knowledge that Sehun protects him in the same way.

Zitao takes breath, retracting his claws and regarding Seulgi calmly, warning her away from attacking him. It wouldn’t be worth it for Seulgi to fight Zitao, but her and Irene against the duke would not yield favorable results for the duke. 

“We could let him die,” Zitao says quietly after a moment. Seulgi and Irene freeze. Joy’s mouth drops in shop. “Then you will be free and we can fight the Two Queens in ‘peace.’” Sehun is on his feet in an instant, wrenching himself from Baekhyun’s hold before the Tamer can stop him and hauling Zitao to his feet.

“Do you think I would have kept him alive this long in my court if I wanted to take that way out?” Sehun spits, his fangs glinting in the hellfire torchlight. Zitao cowers immediately, ducking his head so that he stands shorter than his prince. Baekhyun begins to reach for Sehun to calm him, but Joy touches his shoulder gently. Baekhyun refrains. This is a show of power that Sehun needs to keep his duke in line. Baekhyun has interfered enough with the infrastructure of his demon’s court.

Zitao’s hands close around Sehun’s wrists where his hands are twisted in the duke’s shirt.

“Are you in love with him?” Zitao demands quietly. “That Tamer?” His question is barely a whisper, his voice full of longing and nostalgia. Baekhyun holds his breath, and beside him, Joy holds perfectly still. Irene and Seulgi reach for each other across the table, their pinkies linked.

Heat and anger, passion and discord, flood the blood exchange, and Baekhyun has to grab onto the edge of the table to hold himself upright under the onslaught of Sehun’s emotions. The whirlwind within him is too fierce, too violent for him to properly understand, and he almost misses Sehun’s answer when he breathes it.

“Does it matter if I am?” he asks his duke. “Does that make me less than your prince?”

It’s an admittance, a confession Baekhyun isn’t sure he was ready to hear, isn’t sure Sehun was ready to say. Guilt and fear twist in his stomach, and when Sehun shoves Zitao back, the tension between them doesn’t ease even a bit. Baekhyun is about to be sick.

“No, my prince,” Zitao says. He bows his head.

“We will speak directly after this,” Sehun tells his duke. The demon prince glances back at Baekhyun, and the Tamer shakes his head. He can’t be there for Sehun’s talk with his duke; he has his own small private discussion to hold.

There’s a long moment before Zitao breathes, “Yes, my prince.” Sehun releases him then and returns to his seat. Baekhyun doesn’t know if he’s offended or relieved when Sehun chooses to leave space between them.

“My prince,” Seulgi says. “My Tamer will call Irene and myself to the human plane soon. Shall we tell him of this plan?”

Sehun nods. “Do so.”

“So it’s decided then,” Joy says. “This coming Night Hunt, we will open the gates and meet the Two Queens for the battle they’ve been wanting since you first fled their court. I will stand with you, my prince, and protect you while you return Baekhyun to his home.” If she notices Baekhyun’s wince, she says nothing. 

“I will stand with you as well, my prince,” Irene says. Seulgi murmurs her agreement.

“Duke Zitao?” Joy prompts. 

Zitao’s shoulders are hunched, worry and loyalty and resentment radiating off of him. “I would do nothing but stand with my prince until he no longer wishes for me to.”

“Good,” Sehun says. “Thank you,” he adds after a moment. “Joy. Please go prepare my court. I will speak with Zitao now.” The duchess gives her consent and stands to leave immediately, sweeping out of the room in a swirl of skirts. Irene and Seulgi stand next, bowing at their prince before they too take their leave.

Baekhyun gets to his feet. “I will come back soon,” he tells Sehun. The demon prince makes to rest a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, but Baekhyun steps back and away before he can. He nods to Zitao before he turns and hurries out the door. A pang of regret hits him, and Baekhyun glances over his shoulder at Sehun. The demon doesn’t show any physical signs of pain at Baekhyun hurrying away, but the blood exchange tells Baekhyun another story. He swallows and continues out the door.

“Irene,” Baekhyun calls out once the doors to Sehun’s common rooms are shut. “Seulgi.” The vial burns in Baekhyun’s palm.

The two duchesses stop in their tracks, turning back to look at Baekhyun. They gesture for him to follow them in unison, and Baekhyun does without question. He can hear Sehun’s voice, muffled through the door, talking to Duke Zitao, and he needs to be away from it.

Irene and Seulgi’s room is dark and simple, the walls covered in mirrors or armoires for their abundance of dresses. The bed is messy, and the air smells faintly of sex. For a moment, Baekhyun wonders if his and Sehun’s room smells the same way.

 _Sehun’s,_ he corrects himself. _Not ours._

“Some things must be said in secret,” Irene says, shutting the door behind Baekhyun. “There are demons here that you should not trust.”

“Isn’t everyone here loyal to Sehun?” Baekhyun asks. 

“Loyal to Sehun does not mean loyal to you or to either of us,” Seulgi says. “It’s best to keep private conversations private. And I doubt you called after us for nothing more than small talk.” She smiles, and Irene smiles. The two duchesses lean forward a little bit, and their in-sync motion is something Baekhyun is familiar enough with from when he’d known them on the Earth plane that he is comfortable opening his mouth.

“I know you said you would tell Kyungsoo to open the gate for me,” Baekhyun starts. He flexes his fingers around the vial stashed among the folds of his clothing. “But Kyungsoo won’t be able to.”

Irene’s smile falters. “I thought so,” she said. “Not with the two of us already.”

“He’s still recovering, anyway,” Seulgi adds. “But I think it’s more that he’s not close enough to Baekhyun for him to make a call.”

“Sehun didn’t explain at the meeting,” Baekhyun says. “But he’s going to send me back using the method of a Tamer.”

“Oh,” Irene says. “He’s not a Tamer.”

“But he did call him here in the first place,” Seulgi cuts in. Baekhyun nods and pulls out the vial. Deep red sloshes around inside, and Irene and Seulgi’s eyes widen. 

“Is this--?” Seulgi starts, but she doesn’t finish. It couldn’t be anything else.

Baekhyun holds out the vial of his blood to them. “Take this the next time Kyungsoo-hyung calls you,” he instructs. “And ask him to give it to Taehyung, please. Taehyung knows me best. He’ll get the closest gate. And this will direct him.”

“I will,” Seulgi agrees with a slight dip of her head. Irene sets a hand on her Eternity’s arm, biting her lower lip in worry.

“Baekhyun,” Irene wavers. “If Taehyung uses this, then you’ll be called as a _demon._ ”

“I know,” Baekhyun tells them both. “That’s the only way.”

“I see,” Irene murmurs.

“Thank you,” Baekhyun says, and he turns to leave, to head back to Sehun’s rooms and hopefully forget everything happening around him for just a few hours.

“Why are you leaving then?” Seulgi calls out just as Baekhyun’s hand twists the door handle. He glances back at her holding up the vial of blood. “If this is who you really are.”

Baekhyun opens the door. “I shouldn’t stay,” he says, and he leaves. It’s a lie, the answer he gave; he and the duchesses all know it. He can’t stay, however. There is war going on between Sehun and his former queens, and there is a war between demons and humans. 

In that war, Baekhyun still doesn't know which side he stands on.

***

Baekhyun stares up the sky, watching the black clouds drift across red. The purple glare of the daytime sun is sinking, and a silver glow is slowly taking over as the nighttime sun takes its place. Baekhyun breathes in. The miasma is thickening, swirling up around his feet and spreading out across the sky. The silver sun seems almost tinted red, and Baekhyun is reminded of the Earth plane’s moon as the miasma creeps over it.

The bleeding moon, humans calls it: a warning sign for Night Hunt’s arrival. Anticipation crackles underneath Baekhyun’s skin, and for the first time, Baekhyun notices the similarities between Night Hunt in Hell and Night Hunt on the Earth plane. His gaze shifts to the ground, watching for the first gate to spin into existence. 

Warm hands settle on Baekhyun’s shoulders, and the comfort and terror that comes with Sehun’s presence sinks into his veins. 

“Are you ready?” the demon asks. Baekhyun’s eyes never leave the ground.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Baekhyun questions. Sehun’s hands shift from his shoulders to instead trace out the lines of Baekhyun’s shoulder blade where the marking of his wing is. 

“I’m always ready for a fight,” Sehun answers. It’s not really the answer that Baekhyun was looking for, but he doesn’t press Sehun any further. If Sehun were to say he’s not ready to try to send Baekhyun back, Baekhyun fears he would agree to stay too easily.

A collective gasp of Sehun’s court members fills the air around the Tamer and his demon, and Baekhyun turns to face Sehun.

“It’s starting,” he says.

“Open the gates!” Sehun orders. There is something beautiful about the way his court responds immediately, swarming to protect their home and to fight away their prince’s enemies. Snarls and shouts ring out, and fear and killing intent smell sharp amidst the thick smoke of the miasma. 

Baekhyun leans forward, his body screaming to join the ranks of demons ahead of him. Zitao and Sehun’s duchesses surge from within the mass of mid-levels and low-levels alike, hurrying back to where Sehun and Baekhyun stand. They take up a protective stance around the prince and Tamer without any direction, standing at four points around them.

Zitao leans back from Sehun’s right. “Are you ready, my prince?” The roar of Sehun’s court doubles.

The first gate of Night Hunt has opened.

“On Baekhyun’s mark,” Sehun says, and as one unit he and his closest court members take a collective breath in. Baekhyun can feel their contracts with Sehun simmering under his skin, far less intense than the blood exchange between his demon and himself, but no less real. 

Sehun looks at Baekhyun. Baekhyun meets his gaze, and he reaches out for any instinctive pull in any direction. 

“Come on, Taehyung,” he murmurs under his breath. A sharp tug in his gut, past the wall surrounding Sehun’s court.

“There,” he says, pointing.

“Let’s go,” Sehun commands. It’s easy for Baekhyun to tap into the connection of the contracts Sehun shares with his demons and sprint forward with them, leading them towards the gate he can feel trying to open through his blood exchange with Sehun. Sehun’s arm brushes Baekhyun’s as they plunge into the ranks of Sehun’s court.

“ _Stay by me,_ ” Baekhyun hears himself order. Sehun brushes against him again, an assurance that he won’t leave Baekhyun’s side. Hellfire surges through his veins, and Sehun’s bloodlust, his hesitation over sending Baekhyun back to the Earth plane pricks at the base of Baekhyun’s skull.

Sehun’s demons part for their prince, stepping aside in defensive poses, prepared to guard him if needed. Their tension is setting Sehun on edge, and Baekhyun presses himself just a little closer to Sehun to calm him and guide him just slightly right towards the gate.

“Why are they like this?” Sehun hisses. 

Joy snarls. “They feel threatened,” she says. “It seems Zitao’s prediction was right.”

The Two Queens are here then. Hate curls tight and painful in Baekhyun’s chest; he can’t determine if the feeling is his or Sehun’s or both. The moment they break free of the lines of Demons spread out with their claws and fangs out, Baekhyun sees them. Standing less than fifty meters away, the Court of Two Queens, led by Queen Jessica, faces Sehun’s court.

“Fuck,” Seulgi pants.

“It’s not a surprise,” Zitao says.

“Doesn’t make it welcome,” Seulgi spits, sneering in the direction of their opponents. Sehun’s court is behind them now, moving forward as they do.

The pull in Baekhyun’s gut, the urge to follow it crawling up his throat, edges on painful. “Just here,” he gasps. Right ahead of him, the ground break open in a concentration of miasma. Sehun stares at it, uncertainty creeping along the lines of their blood exchange.

Baekhyun turns to him. “I told you how to do this,” he reminds gently. He settles his hands on the inside of Sehun’s marked up up near his elbow. “Send me,” he urges.

Sehun swallows, and the blood exchange starts to scream.

“Prince Sehun!” shouts across the distance between Sehun’s court and the Court of Two Queens. Jessica stands with her purple magic flaring bright around her. Around her, demons and creatures stand with their fangs and claws glinting, bodies, both humanoid and completely twisted, poised at the ready for a fight.

“Queen Jessica,” Sehun responds, straightening up. “I wasn’t sure we would be seeing you tonight.”

The queen laughs, a horrible, shattering sound. “I thought I would have to force my way in to visit you, my dear prince,” she calls back. “You’ve been avoiding me every time I’ve come to see you.”

“I’m not particularly fond of inviting my death through my front gate,” Sehun retorts. Queen Jessica’s smile only grows wider, her magic flaring more violently around her. Her court members shift, awaiting her order to attack. 

“But now you’ve come out to enjoy Night Hunt,” she nearly croons. “I see you’re keeping that halfling freak around still.” This time, it’s Sehun’s court who shifts forward, their rage palpable in the air next to Sehun’s rage.

“Sehun, focus,” Baekhyun whispers. He glances up at his demon out of the corner of his eyes, presses his thumb a little harder in the soft skin at the inside of Sehun’s elbow. His demon’s nod is nearly imperceptible.

“I have no interest in fighting your court tonight,” Sehun says. He swallows hard, the lie obvious. His desperation to fight is crawling underneath Baekhyun’s skin, the blood exchange racing through his veins, urging Baekhyun to stand at Sehun’s side and fight with him. The sharp tug of the hell gate pierces at Baekhyun’s sides. The miasma spins a little thicker on the ground in front of them.

“Oh?” Queen Jessica mocks. “How odd that you’ve brought your entire court out to play then.” Her lips twist into a horrid sneer that Sehun mimics. His court screams at the hell queen, and both Sehun and Jessica raise their hands in the air at the same time. 

“I’ll only offer you one warning, dear prince,” Jessica says. The air reeks of her magic. “Stand down and offer yourself and your Tamer up to me.” Her smile at Sehun’s court is saccharine. “I promise the survival of your entire court.” 

Sehun’s court roars in outrage, and strength burrows into Baekhyun’s body through Sehun as he draws on the links he shares with every member of his court. He wants to snap at the draw of the hell gate, to tell it to leave him be so he can fight alongside his demon prince. He closes his eyes, and he thinks he can just make out Taehyung’s annoyed whining.

Sehun bares his fangs; they glint where they curl over his bottom lip. “Why would you even offer?” he spits at the hell queen. 

Jessica’s magic spreads, tiny purple spiders crawling across the ground. 

“If you get near her,” Sehun whispers urgently to his duke and duchesses. “Choke her to death.”

“Yes, my prince,” four voices echo, Joy’s the loudest of all of them. 

Jessica and Sehun’s arms drop at the same time. Their courts sprint forward, and the roar of battle seems to split the sky, the silver sun beating down on them. The black clouds twist in the sky, pierced through with miasma and magic.

Baekhyun tugs hard on Sehun’s arm. “Send me now,” he orders. Sehun breathes in, and amidst the din of battle, Baekhyun watches his uncertainty shake off. He has a court to protect and a promise to fulfill, and no amount of hesitation will help succeed in either of those.

“Hurry,” Irene urges. “The court needs us.” The ranks of Sehun’s court fill in around them, protecting them as Baekhyun moves to stand in the center of the gate. Sehun moves with him, and Baekhyun’s claws slide from his fingertips.

The blood exchange surges. “Now,” Baekhyun repeats.

Sehun closes his eyes. “Tell me again,” he requests, and Baekhyun runs his hand once down the underside of Sehun’s arm as if to soothe him. His nails catch in the soft skin, and he tears through the markings on Sehun’s arm. The demon’s blood splatters across the gate.

“You tell me,” Baekhyun says. “Give me an order.” His voice lowers, and he’s sure Sehun hears his next words in his head through the blood exchange more than he can hear them over the roar of the two fighting courts around him. “As your demon.”

Baekhyun yanks his claws from Sehun’s arm.

“Leave,” Sehun says. A slight jolt hits Baekhyun, and he stumbles back to stand dead center of the gate. He stares hard at his demon, trying his best to ignore the fighting surging around them. Screams of low-level’s dying on mid-levels’ claws and mid-levels torn apart by creatures’ teeth shake Baekhyun’s bones, and he wants nothing more than to join them in the fight. He also needs to go, to let Sehun and his duchesses join the fight.

He sees Irene and Seulgi tearing apart a three-headed creature trying to get him and Sehun. Baekhyun needs to go, and he needs to go _now._

“Say it like you mean it,” Baekhyun directs, a bit frantic. “Say it like I’m your demon.”

“Like your mine,” Sehun whispers. Something terribly sad and furiously enthusiastic twists in Baekhyun’s chest. “Leave,” Sehun tries again. The gate roars and cracks, opening fully. Still it does not admit Baekhyun even as the hellfire rages up around his knees and spins faster and faster. Just under his feet, Baekhyun can see the stars of the human plane.

“Once more,” Baekhyun urges, holding Sehun’s gaze. His slashes through the marks on his arm, his blood dripping join Sehun’s in the gate. His feets sink slowly through the portal. Sehun watches, and Baekhyun can see his resolve hardening.

“Baekhyun,” he starts. “ _Lea-!_

“Sehun!” Joy screams. Purple smashes into Sehun’s back, and he stumbles forward. He twists, and Jessica is there, throwing Zitao and Joy aside with an impressive explosion of her magic. She takes a deep breath.

“Prince!” Joy screams in warning again, but Sehun is already inside of the hell queen’s attack. His claws dig into her throat, and he tears across her collarbone. The queen screams, purple seeping from the wound and stitching the skin back together. Baekhyun tries to dart forward, to assist his demon. He stumbles to his hands and knees, his feet already caught by the gate.

 _Baekhyun!_ rings in the Tamer’s ears. Taehyung.

“I can’t,” Baekhyun gasps. “Sehun--”

 _Come!_ Taehyung’s order resounds through Baekhyun’s body. He sucks in a breath. Sehun dives for Jessica’s throat, and she twists away, a heavy wave of her magic slams against Sehun. It doesn’t knock him over, but it gives one of the hell queen’s creatures a chance to dig his teeth into Sehun’s shoulder. 

Zitao tears through the creature. Baekhyun holds back a scream at the pain that lances through his marked shoulder as blood streams down Sehun’s back. 

Sehun glances back at him. Baekhyun feels the commands before it leaves Sehun’s mouth.

“ _Leave!_ ” he orders. Taehyung’s voice is in Baekhyun’s ears again. Jessica’s magic crashes into Sehun’s stomach, and he rolls with the momentum.

Baekhyun sinks halfway into the gate, Sehun’s command and the blood he gave Taehyung finally activating the hell gate enough to pull Baekhyun in. He can hear Taehyung’s screaming, his shouting for Baekhyun to give in, but Baekhyun’s demon is fighting without him; he can’t just leave. The gate burns, clawing at him. Sehun tears across Jessica’s stomach, her blood covering his hands. Jessica hits him hard across the face, deep purple bruises appearing almost instantly across Sehun’s cheek.

“ _Sehun!_ ” Baekhyun screams, panic digging into his neck and trying to pull his heart out through his throat. 

“Let the Tamer stay,” Jessica cackles. “You might die without him here.” Her purple magic blasts into Sehun’s side. The demon’s blood splashes across Baekhyun’s face. Rage and bile sit heavy on his tongue. 

“Sehun,” Baekhyun repeats, and he doesn’t know if he’s asking to stay or asking to leave. The demon prince makes the decision for him.

“ _Leave!_ ” Sehun roars. The pull, the drag of it, buries hooks in Baekhyun’s skin. He scrabbles at the gate for only a moment. Jessica’s next attack throws Sehun to the ground, and his eyes meet Baekhyun’s for a second.

 _Come on,_ echoes in Baekhyun’s ears. Taehyung’s got a full hold on him now, wrenching him from Hell and onto the Earth plane. _Baekhyun! Let go!_ He wants to, but Sehun’s expression is still panicked.

“ _Connect!_ ” Baekhyun screams wildly. Sehun’s markings flash blue, the blood exchange flaring hot and sharing their energy between them. Baekhyun watches Sehun’s mouth harden in a determined line, and the gate shuts behind him.

Black and hellfire rage around Baekhyun. _Let go,_ Taehyung is urging again. Just let it carry you. Come on. Baekhyun can’t relax though, not when he can still feel Sehun fighting in his blood, not when he doesn’t know if his demon is about to die and take Baekhyun to grave with him. 

_Almost there._ Taehyung is murmuring now, his voice ringing in Baekhyun’s head. Cold air rushes into Baekhyun’s lungs. _You’re here, Baek-_ “-hyun. Welcome back.” 

Baekhyun collapses to his knees and drops to his back. Wet asphalt digs into his skin, and hellfire and streetlamps are harsh against his eyelids. He forces his open eyes, and his vision blurs. 

“You’re okay,” soothes from above him, and Baekhyun can only barely make out Taehyung’s face, feel his fingers running through Baekhyun’s hair. He blinks a few times, and Jimin’s visage comes in and out of the haze.

“Jiminnie,” Baekhyun hears Taehyung says. “Go tell your prince.” Baekhyun doesn’t catch Jimin’s reply, doesn’t see him leave. He can still hear the roar of the battle between his demon’s court and the Court of Two Queens, the pain of the demons and the sharp clash of claws and teeth splitting through his skull. Taehyung’s fingers are gentle against his scalp, and Baekhyun fights to breathe, his muscles seizing.

“It’s okay, Baekhyun,” Taehyung whispers. Just past his shoulder, Baekhyun catches a glimpse of the bleeding moon.

Black takes Baekhyun away.

***

Baekhyun’s arm and shoulder are burning, remnants of hellfire caught in his blood as he struggles to breathe the empty air. His mind is a haze of black, muffled sound of breathing and warfare filtering into his ears through the distortion of his own thoughts where they meet Sehun’s. The blood exchange runs deep into his dreams, filling in his skin and flashing along the markings on his arm.

Night Hunt isn’t over yet, and the battle rages on.

Gray clouds of sleep part for the dark splash of dried blood that comes with dreams, images of Sehun and the members of his court with their teeth bared and claws glinting under the silver sun. Baekhyun’s breath catches in his throat alongside a roar that he feels more than he hears leaving Sehun’s throat. The haze of unconsciousness parts and Baekhyun sees Sehun twisted backwards, just barely avoiding Queen Jessica’s attack.

He feels Seulgi and Irene pulling hard on their prince’s power before releasing it, letting it snap back against Sehun combined with their own. The extra surge of power presses Sehun forward, and his claws tear across Queen Jessica’s stomach, cutting through dress and flesh. 

The haze of sleep fills in the edge of Baekhyun’s vision, and he tries to gasp out a command, to offer Sehun more of his own energy through the blood exchange. The dull flash of Sehun’s markings, the light blue that lights on Baekhyun’s own arm, is in time with the beating of Baekhyun’s heart. The blood exchange is still activated, dragging Baekhyun down from his place of unconsciousness to the hell plane where Sehun’s court fights on.

Pain and black stab through Baekhyun and momentarily block his vision with each member of Sehun’s court who dies speared on the claws of Jessica’s court. Sorrow screams from Baekhyun’s throat alongside the rage Sehun feels, and Baekhyun fights through the gray of sleep to the deep red of battle, watching as Sehun’s court slowly gains the upper hand, fighting ferocious in the challenge of saving their home. 

Queen Jessica screams. Her magic flares up around her, deep purple lightning stretching from the ground to the sky. Baekhyun reaches for his demon with arms that cannot move, the flashing of Sehun’s marking picking up speed as panic consumes Baekhyun, tearing into his heart like the attack that Sehun will not be able to avoid.

The lightning cracks and spears forward. Baekhyun screams into the silence of sleep, and a moment of nothing passes.

It is Sehun whom Queen Jessica aims for, but it is Duke Zitao who hits the ground, his screams of pain harsh and echoing across the blood-streaked ground. His body spasms for a moment before he lies still. 

Baekhyun holds his breath, stretching out across the blood exchange to feel for Zitao’s contract with his demon. It’s there, weak, stuttering, fading fast.

He’s not dead yet; Baekhyun doesn’t know if he’ll live.

Red, blinding and deep, filters through Baekhyun’s vision, chasing away the dark gray and the black, and Sehun’s roar of rage fills his ears, echoing in his chest. It almost seems to be in slow motion that the hellfire explodes out from Sehun. The sharp draw on Baekhyun’s strength as Sehun grabs at every connection he owns and surges forward.

Jessica’s magic is still mere sparks on her fingers when Sehun reaches her. The hell queen gasps, and Sehun’s claws flash in the silver sunlight.

Jessica’s head rolls across the ground, and her body collapses in a pool of blood. 

Gray smears across Baekhyun's vision and red burns on his fingers as if the hell queen's blood were on his own hands. He opens his mouth, but it's Sehun's scream of victory, his roar of fury that leaves his throat. The last threads of Zitao’s contract snap, and Baekhyun feels sick with sudden emptiness. Sehun’s scream cuts off in a choked sob.

The air on the battlefield holds still, the black dust mixed with red miasma holding still in the air for a moment as Jessica's head rolls to a stop.

"My Queen!" screams from within the ranks of the Court of Two Queens, and Baekhyun feels the silence shatter as triumph and grief, Sehun's and his own, boil in his chest. Agony, terrible and putrid, rises from the mouths of the demons of the Court of Two Queens. Baekhyun watches through Sehun's eyes as his demons leap forward, tearing through the stragglers and the few of Queen Jessica and Queen Krystal's court who dare to hold their ground. The rest of the Two Queens' court flees, blood dripping from their wounds as they dive into the remaining gates just before they close.

They'll die on the human plane; there are too many Tamers out at the end of Night Hunt for low-levels to escape slaughter. Sehun's rage at them, his pride in their death, is energy that sears through Baekhyun's veins. His grief, his pain at Duke Zitao's loss, is a knife that buries itself in their blood exchange.

Baekhyun reaches out for Sehun, brushing the gray of unconsciousness out of his vision as he runs towards his demon, his arms outstretched--

Baekhyun's eyes open. He's not on the Hell plane; Sehun isn't with him. He bites his lips to stop himself from calling out for his demon prince. He's back on the Earth plane where he wanted to be, and even as he did when we fought the portal away despite Taehyung's calls for him, he wonders if the Earth plane has ever been somewhere he should want to return to.

"Sehun," Baekhyun whispers. Pain skitters along Baekhyun's side, and he presses his hand to it. His skin is smooth, undamaged. His chest aches sharply, and Baekhyun gasps. This is Sehun's pain; the blood exchange murmurs a soft tune of mourning.

"Sehun," Baekhyun says again. He spreads his fingers, feels the now natural extension of his claws, and makes to slide his claws across his palm. He needs blood to call Sehun. Even though there is nothing that Baekhyun needs Sehun for at this moment, he wants him at his side.

 _Baekhyun,_ whispers in Baekhyun's ears, the low rasp of Sehun's pained voice. A jolt, sadness and maybe longing, runs through Baekhyun, leaving behind the residue of the feeling of needing to be needed. Here, on the Earth plane, Baekhyun isn't needed, but he wasn't a member of Sehun's court while in Hell either. Has he ever truly been needed?

Baekhyun stumbles from the bed, toes slipping on the chilled tiled floor. He grabs for the bedside table, coming up with a water bottle and some advil. He knows this place; the sparse walls and the empty corners and the near freezing levels of air conditioner are all familiar to him. He used to live here before he could handle being in the presence of multiple humans, before he was able to officially take his title as Watcher in the Gatewatchers’ organization.

"Joonmyun," Baekhyun whispers. Uncertainty flashes across the back of Baekhyun's mind, a rise in Sehun’s need to protect what he considers his, and he immediately swallows, lips forming silently around the vowels that make up his demon prince's name instead as he pictures the Second Tamer. He feels Sehun relax as he recognizes the man who had advocated for them in from the Lord Tamer.

Sehun’s mourning overwhelms Baekhyun again, driving pain through his chest. Baekhyun spins the cap off the water bottle, pressing it to his lips. It hurts to focus on Sehun, but Baekhyun can’t keep his thoughts to himself, can’t keep his mind away from his demon. His stomach turns violently at the first swallow of water, and Baekhyun drops the bottle, stumbling into the bathroom. Sehun’s concern worsens the twisting in his stomach, and Baekhyun grips the vanity with a white-knuckled grip, heaving over the sink.

He doesn’t need water or food now; his body only wants the miasma of hell to sustain him. His time on the Hell plane and Sehun’s blood in his body have decidedly tipped the scales in Baekhyun’s halfling status. Baekhyun stares at himself in the mirror, swallowing hard around the bile in his throat.

His reflection is cold. It tells of the places he's been and the things he's seen. He can almost see the hellfire he's been staring at for a month dancing in his eyes, but he can;t feel the warmth of it. The only thing Baekhyun can feels right now is the loss that Sehun is feeling. Duke Zitao's death and the various snapped loyalty bonds of lost low-level and mid-level demons who gave their lives for Sehun's court. As he stares at his own face, he thinks he can see Sehun's frown there, the lines and shadows of his skin spelling out the echoes of mourning as Sehun's screams at the purple moon resound in Baekhyun's head.

In his mind's eye, Baekhyun sees himself standing beside his demon prince, singing along with Sehun's court as they watch their dead and beloved burn into whatever peace they can find, hellfire raising up over the funeral pyre, spilling dark green smoke into the red sky.

Baekhyun blinks, and he's back to staring at his bruised reflection. Even as he watches, the bruises under his eyes start to fade. His healing is lower without constantly breathing in the rich miasma of Hell.

Almost out of habit, Baekhyun moves to slice his claws through his wrist. He needs a little more energy from Sehun, needs his presence as his prince, and his touch as a lover. Are they lovers? That's assuming far too much. Lovers would imply they are in love, and Baekhyun can't do that. Such a strong emotion would surely tear his two halves apart.

He ignores the fact that he's long proven himself to be more demon than human.

Even in this moment, he's proving that by breathing. The air he'd become accustomed to, the atmosphere of Hell, is densely flavoured by the miasma. Baekhyun hadn't ever needed to eat or drink anything while in Hell. The miasma has sufficed as Sehun has assured it would. By comparison, the air here is dank and dead. The sweet miasma is barely there at all, and Baekhyun clamps down immediately on his emotions. He was allowed to feel freely in Hell, but here, that is not the case.

However, Baekhyun needs to let it out, needs to taste the air even if it's just the extra bursts that come with an open gate. He reaches for Sehun, claws extended.

"Sehun," he whispers. " _Sehun, come._ "

There’s a long moment before Baekhyun hears Sehun's voice, feels his arms reaching for him over the bond.

Baekhyun reaches back. _Don't,_ Baekhyun hears. He retracts his reach immediately.

"Don't?" he blurts out. His voice sounds rusty, like he hasn’t used it in years. 

_I can’t,_ Sehun answers. _My court needs me here. I need to be here._ Baekhyun is flooded with the crying throughout all of the bonds that Sehun has, and he reaches again for Sehun to offer him support and to hold him as best as he can. The ghost of Sehun’s lips over Baekhyun’s neck sends shivers down his spine, and the warmth of Sehun’s hold through phantom limbs is far too tangible. 

“Do you want me there?” Baekhyun asks. “Should I have left?” Sehun doesn’t answer, but the blood exchange is starting to sing. The mourning song rises in pitch until it reminds Baekhyun of the first night he fell into Sehun’s arms and forgot himself as a human.

It reminds Baekhyun of that time Sehun stopped recognizing their blood exchange as such and instead referred to it as an Eternity. Baekhyun shoves those thoughts back, sinking into Sehun’s incorporeal touch, peeling off his ruined clothes. Getting out of the clothes he’d borrowed from Sehun’s court feels almost like stripping himself from the first layer of an identity he’d only just started to grow into, and Baekhyun’s fingers tighten around the fabric before Sehun’s fingers are sliding over the backs of his knuckles and the insides of his wrists. 

_Let go,_ whispers in Baekhyun’s ear, and he gives in too easily, twisting in the cage of arms that aren’t really there and turning on the shower. The chill of the water shocks his system, and Baekhyun leans forward immediately, his hands grabbing at nothing until the blood exchange lends him the feeling of Sehun’s waist under his hands and the hellfire that surrounds the demon prince.

It’s with Sehun’s urging that Baekhyun washes himself, smoke and grit from hellfire and asphalt swirling gray down the drain. It feels as if Sehun’s fingers are gentle against Baekhyun’s scalp as he washes his hair. Baekhyun tips his head back to rinse the soap out, and the slight scrape of Sehun’s fangs along Baekhyun’s throat has him jumping up, arousal flooding his system.

“Your court--” Baekhyun gasps out, and Sehun lips are too insistent, the feeling of the impression of his mouth on Baekhyun’s skin too addicting for Baekhyun to ignore. He slides his own hands down his body, fingernails teasing over the tops of his thighs.

 _Just think of me,_ Sehun urges. _Feel me like this._ In his words, Baekhyun can feels Sehun’s own desperation, can feel the pleasure spiking through Sehun’s body as the demon touches himself with Baekhyun’s breath echoing in his ears through their bond. The pain of separation soothes as their hearts fall into rhythm, their skin singing with the memories of lips and teeth of long nights on the Hell plane. 

Baekhyun wraps a hand around himself, sighing into the stimulation of touch, the warmth of the water, and the heat of hellfire surging through his veins. 

_Mine,_ echoes through Baekhyun’s mind, but he’s not sure whose voice said it, who meant to say it. Sehun is his, but Baekhyun isn’t only his own. The phantom slide of Sehun’s tail around Baekhyun’s thigh has Baekhyun picking up speed, touch a little firmer as he reaches for Sehun and matches his breathing to the tempo of the blood exchange. 

Pleasure in its purest form, lost in the feeling itself with his own touch combined with the phantom feeling of Sehun holding onto him, races through Baekhyun’s body, mounting in intensity until he’s sinking his fangs into his bottom lip to keep himself quiet as he comes over his fist and stomach.

He breathes, closing his eyes and leaning into the feeling of Sehun’s chest heaving against his back, letting the shower wash away his sweat and come. He holds still until the water beating against his back has completely overcome the feeling of Sehun’s warmth behind him. 

_Is this part of the blood exchange?_ Sehun inquires, his voice quieting as the blood exchange calms. This time, the separation feels more natural. For the first time since he woke up, Baekhyun feels like his own person. He doesn’t answer Sehun’s question, and maybe that’s answer enough. He doesn’t know the answer, but he doesn’t think what just happened, a connection so strong they can feel each other even across the planes separating them, is part of a blood exchange. He really just doesn’t know.

 _I see,_ Sehun whispers. _Let me have a few days to be with my court._ The ghost of his touch slides down Baekhyun’s arm, and the blood exchange cuts out.

Baekhyun listens to his own breathing for just a moment before he turns off the water and steps out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist and stepping over his discarded clothing from the Hell plane. 

“Nice to see you’re okay, princeling,” greets from the door to Baekhyun's room, and Baekhyun swallows, forcing his claws to not burst from within his fingertips. He wipes at his mouth instead, cleaning off the slight trickles of blood from how hard he had bitten his lip in order to hold back his cry of Sehun's name. He sucks in a breath.

"Taehyung," Baekhyun greets in return. His voice still grates, and his throat burns a bit, a result of the miasma-lacking air. "Thank you."

Taehyung's face splits into a huge grin, his eyes squinting shut and his tongue poking out from between his teeth. "Yeah, you owe me," he laughs. "You said you wanted to come back here, but you sure fought me all the way."

Baekhyun licks his lips. "I'm not a full demon," he says as an excuse. "It's bound to be difficult to call me through the gates."

"Sure," Taehyung says, but his eyes are glinting in that way that says he knows something exciting. Baekhyun has a feeling it's because Taehyung knows he's lying. "I brought you something." Taehyung walks forward a hesitant step towards Baekhyun, then another. Baekhyun nods, and Taehyung is grinning again as he deposits a bundle of folded fabric into Baekhyun’s hands.

"You looked really good in those demon clothes," Taehyung tells him. "But here, I think, this will be your best best." He taps a finger against a familiar crest sewn into the right breast of the jacket in Baekhyun's hands

A Tamer's uniform. 

Something turns in Baekhyun's stomach, a mix of pride and disgust. He shouldn't be wearing this; he's more than just a Tamer, but then, a Tamer is all he's ever wanted to be. He needs people to believe it. He's on dangerous ground now. The Lord Tamer has more reason than ever to order Baekhyun's death. He just hopes the First Tamer can't tell how much Baekhyun has given in to his demonic side.

"How did you get these?" he asks.

Taehyung's eyebrows furrow. "Second Tamer got them for you," he says. "He told me to bring you here after we got you out of the gate." He takes a breath, tugging his top lip between his teeth. Baekhyun just waits for him to continue. "Lord Tamer wasn't planning on bringing you back. I don't think he even wants you back."

"That's not exactly shocking," Baekhyun deadpans. "He doesn't even want me alive. There aren't any hell queens on this plane anymore. Calling me as a demon was the only way to get me back here. He knows that."

"You're still one of his Tamers," Taehyung argues. "He shouldn't be trying to kill you off."

"I was called here like a _demon._ I tamed a Prince, Taehyung," Baekhyun tells him. "That's more demon blood in my system than is safe to keep around, and Lord Tamer--"

"Needs powerful Tamers," Taehyung interrupts. "Just more proof you're more valuable here, working for him, than in Hell." He grasps Baekhyun's shoulder. "You're the only link between the two worlds that can end this war, princeling, don't you think?"

"Let me change," Baekhyun says instead of agreeing. There's little point in arguing with Taehyung when he's got an idea in his head. His continued use of 'princeling' to address Baekhyun is proof of that. Taehyung lets go of Baekhyun's shoulder, stepping back and plopping down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Baekhyun watches his friend's fingers trail absently over the markings on his arm.

Baekhyun shakes his head and gets to work pulling on his pants and shirt.

"None of us know what's causing the rift," Baekhyun says as he shrugs into the Tamer jacket. He turns to catch the flash of the golden Tamer's crest out of the corner of his eye, and he catches himself yearning for the bright light of hellfire in his peripheral vision instead.

"But we might have more insight now," Taehyung says. "Lord Tamer never talks about the Hell plane, and he's sworn Kyungsoo to silence too. You're under no such obligations."

"That's doesn't mean I know anything helpful." Baekhyun snaps the leather coat closed and pulls on the gloves, flexing his fingers. He lets his claws show for just a moment, the black claws appearing obsidian against the deep gray of the fingerless gloves.

"I'm the last demon worshipper," Taehyung asserts. "Joonmyun is one of the best minds in Gatewatchers. You've spent substantial time in both worlds. Between the three of us, there’s got to be something we can figure out. Even a small step towards the end of this war--"

"You know this war will only end when both planes have returned to their normal state," Baekhyun cuts his friend off. "You'll be separated from your demon. Is that--"

"Baekhyun," Taehyung says, voice unusually serious. "Maybe I've fucked my demon, and maybe he's fucked me. And maybe I love him as long as he obeys me and comes when I call for him, but we're not going to last. He'll find someone he wants an Eternity with, and I'll find someone I want a family. He's my job. He’s loyal. Demons are loyal."

Taehyung's gaze is unnerving in its intensity. "There is not a single Tamer-demon relationship like yours with your demon."

Baekhyun holds his breath. He's not going to react; he doesn't want to confirm Taehyung's words, but he doesn't want to deny Sehun either. Silence covers them for a time, and Baekhyun laces up his boots just to give himself something to do.

"I missed you," Taehyung admits quietly.

Baekhyun jolts up and stares at him. "You--?"

"You're not entirely hated here, princeling," Taehyung says. "I missed you, even if you're an idiot. I was really relieved when Jiminnie told me he'd seen you in his prince's court." Despite the sudden warmth in Baekhyun's chest, he snarls at Taehyung for his comment. Taehyung just laughs, swinging himself off of the bed and slinging an arm over Baekhyun's shoulders.

"Come on, princeling." Taehyung starts walking out the door, dragging Baekhyun with him. Even though Baekhyun could easily pull away, could easily stand his ground and stop Taehyung from moving him anywhere, he's oddly entranced by this feeling of belonging. Maybe he just misses Sehun beside him, or maybe he also missed Taehyung during his time on the Hell plane. He feels a strange sense of relief for deciding to come back to the Earth plane.

Taehyung guides Baekhyun through Joonmyun’s house as if the halfling doesn't know the way, and Baekhyun allows him, taking in the sparse decor and feeling strangely at home. He used to spend all of his time here, training and learning to control his emotions, to control his demon half. Now, Baekhyun feels more out of control but he's not adverse to the feeling.

He's at home in his skin for the first time on the Earth plane.

"Baekhyun," Joonmyun says with a big smile, his teeth glinting in the fluorescents. "You look surprisingly well."

Baekhyun nods. 

"You look comfortable," Joonmyun notes. "Less like you're gritting your teeth just to take a step. Do you feel better?"

"The rest was nice," Baekhyun answers, carefully choosing his words. "The gate really took a lot out of me. Thank you for letting me stay."

Joonmyun raises an eyebrow at Baekhyun before he stands. He's maybe an inch or two shorter than Baekhyun is, but his presence is huge, his power as a Tamer so much more apparent to Baekhyun now that he can feel it more than just know it exists due to his title as Second Tamer.

"Baekhyun, you don't have to lie to me," Joonmyun says. "I've known you since you were a baby. I practically raised you. You look balanced. And both of us know that's not because you got some decent sleep."

Baekhyun holds his tongue.

"We also know you didn't get any sleep at all," Joonmyun continues. "You were too deep in your blood exchange for your body to really rest."

"That could have happened to anyone," Baekhyun argues. "All Tamers are a little bit demon. All Tamers have a little bit of demon blood in them."

"But Tamers don't stay in their blood exchange without their demon on the same plane as them," Joonmyun says. "Tamers aren't more than fifty-percent demon. You're a special case, Baekhyun. And I'm telling you you look well now. You might even go so far as to interpret that to mean I'm proud of you." Joonmyun is smiling again; the slightly impatient tapping of his foot is the only sign that his nerves are a little frayed.

"Thank you," Baekhyun says finally. The tension bleeds out of Joonmyun's smile, and he claps his hands together.

"Now, come sit," Joonmyun offers. "We've got a lot to discuss, I think. Are you hungry at all?" Taehyung bounces away from Baekhyun's side, scurrying towards the kitchen.

"I am!" he says. "I'll get something!" Baekhyun doesn't blame him. Joonmyun isn't the best chef, and his creations are always just a little bit questionable. Taehyung pauses at the kitchen door, leaning back to look at Baekhyun.

"You want something, princeling?"

Baekhyun thinks about it. His stomach lurches. "No," he says. "I really don't."

Taehyung shrugs and scampers into the kitchen. Baekhyun sits down on the couch opposite of Joonmyun's favorite armchair. The Second Tamer sits, folding his hands in his lap. Baekhyun carefully copies him, reminding himself to not lean any particular direction as if Sehun were there beside him. There's a slight spark through the blood exchange, and Baekhyun clamps down on it. He needs to focus right now, not be distracted by Sehun's pain.

Later, he promises himself, he'll burrow into Sehun's mind and comfort him.

"So, Baekhyun," Joonmyun begins. "You're immortal now. How does that feel?"

Baekhyun looks at him oddly. "I don't think it feels like anything," he says. "It makes it easier to not be consumed by my demon side, I guess."

"I think that you just understand your demon side better now, and a little more demon blood is helping you out," Joonmyun argues. "A perfect fifty-fifty split wasn't doing any of us any favors."

Baekhyun just nods. Joonmyun, above all things, is a scientist. He's been studying Baekhyun's blood since he first took guardianship of him.

"If I tamed another demon then," Baekhyun asks. "Do you think I'd be even better at understanding my side?"

Joonmyun shakes his head. "I think you would break yourself," he says. "And I don't think your demon prince will take too kindly to you having multiple demons." Joonmyun's got that knowing glint in his eye, and Baekhyun has a feeling he knows what the Second Tamer is going to say before he says it. "When a Watcher tames a demon, there's an exchange of human and demon blood. When two demons join in an eternity bond, there's an exchange of demon and demon blood. What type of exchange happened between you and Prince Sehun, I wonder?" Baekhyun doesn't answer. He knows what type of bond he thought he and Sehun were going into, and he knows what type of bond Sehun believes they have.

He doesn't know which type of bond he hopes they have.

"Do you know why Tamers are only allowed one demon?" Joonmyun asks.

"Too much demon blood could give that Tamer too much power," Baekhyun recites from textbooks he's read back when he was a Watcher. "Mortals holding immortal blood could lead to madness."

"Exactly," Joonmyun agrees. "That's another scenario in which the Lord Tamer will call for a termination."

"The Lord Tamer has multiple demons, though," Baekhyun argues.

"He's immortal," the Second Tamer says simply. Taehyung chooses that moment to return, a plate of crackers and various cheeses in his hand. He's got a glass of juice in the other hand, and the smell of it turns Baekhyun's stomach.

He's craving a miasma-rich atmosphere, but he's not about to go back to Hell. He'll have to wait for the next Night Hunt and hope his stomach figures itself out by then.

"Okay, I'm curious," Taehyung says around a mouthful of cheddar. "What's the Hell plane like?" Joonmyun leans forward a little in his seat too, and Baekhyun takes a breath.

"It's almost like a negative of the Earth plane," he starts slowly. "The grass is orange, and the sky is red. The ocean is red. But there are towns. The courts are giant castles, and every member of the court lives there."

"Wow," Taehyung breathes. "Is it constantly on fire? Jimin tells me it is, but I don't believe him. The old doctrines say it's not, but I really never got to finish training to be a demon priest. We were all-- well." The end of that sentence is tragic: wiped out.

Baekhyun contemplates leaning over to comfort his friend. He decides not to. "No," he says. "It's actually really just like here. Less cities, more wilderness. Two suns."

"Two suns?" Joonmyun asks.

"Yes," Baekhyun continues. "One purple. That's for daytime. And one silver. Like our moon."

"What about Night Hunt there?" Joonmyun continues.

"The miasma gets really dense," Baekhyun answers. "It's always dense. That's all that demons needs to survive. It becomes really dense and it covers the sun, and that's when the gates start opening."

Joonmyun's biting his lower lip, a finger pressed to his temple. Baekhyun opens his mouth to say something else, but Joonmyun holds up a hand. "A silver sun," he says slowly. "Covered by red miasma." He stares hard right between Taehyung and Baekhyun's heads.

"Just like the bleeding moon."

"Yeah," Taehyung adds suddenly. "That does sound just like the bleeding moon. My father told me once that his demon could only stand coming up to the Earth plane because the moon reminded her of home."

Joonmyun stands suddenly. "Reminds her of home..." he repeats. He marches over to his bookshelves, running his fingers along the binding. Baekhyun glances at Taehyung, and the other Tamer shrugs his shoulders.

"What are you looking for?" Taehyung asks.

"It's just fascinating," Joonmyun muses, voice slow, lost in thought. "How many similarities there are between here and there. The bleeding moon." He repeats the last phrase a few times until he pulls down a leather-bound notebook. He drops it on the table between the couch and his armchair, and flips it open to a particular page.

"Here," he says, pointing. "That's why this matters."

The journal, Baekhyun reads at the top of the page, is one of Joonmyun's own, a collaboration between him and the previous Second Tamer. The passage he's opened it to is titled "Exchange of Power between Worlds." Baekhyun scans through it as quickly as he can without missing any important information. It makes sense, what he’s reading. He glances up at Joonmyun. The Second Tamer really is more brilliant than he’s given credit for.

“So this is saying that the connection between our world has gotten stronger because a demon is trapped here. And that's shredding the veil between the worlds?” Taehyung summarizes. “Demons can’t survive here without miasma.”

“But there is miasma here,” Joonmyun says. “It’s let into our world through Night Hunt and any other gate that Tamers open whenever they call out their demons.”

“Only demon princes and princesses are strong enough to stay here over a course of multiple days,” Taehyung says. “By that logic, only the Demon King could--”

“He’s still alive,” Baekhyun cuts in. “Sehun told me he is.” Joonmyun and Taehyung stare at him. “The Demon King was my demon’s brother. My demon told me that when the Demon King disappeared, his power disappeared from the Hell plane.”

"Power doesn't disappear," Taehyung murmurs. "A dead demon's power disperses until it's gathered up by a hell queen to make a new demon." He wraps his arms around himself. "My people believed demons could take that power from their own kind. That's why demons can gain or lose levels."

Baekhyun remembers Joy's shredded tail.

"What about the beginning of Night Hunt?" Joonmyun asks. "Your people were calling demons long before Lord Minseok started to."

Taehyung swallows. “We were." His bangs fall in his face. "I'm the last one, and I can't share how they did it. That knowledge will die with me. And anyway, I learned the same way that everyone at Gatewatchers did. Before Lord Tamer, only members of my clan were able to call demons to the Earth plane."

"And when Minseok figured it out?" Joonmyun prompts again.

"That's when Night Hunt began. The first Night Hunt was the night of the Demon King's disappearance," Taehyung answers. "Jimin told me.”

“Hundreds of years ago,” Baekhyun murmurs in agreement. "But why would the Demon King have fled the Hell plane in the first place if it's his home? He's not exactly lacking in support there." Joonmyun shakes his head, and Taehyung copies him. There's only one person in connection with the event that they know of, and despite Joonmyun being his second in command, there is no way the Lord Tamer is about to reveal that sort of information. Another few moments of stillness pass with the accompaniment of Joonmyun's faint, thoughtful humming.

“If what you say about the Demon King is true, Baekhyun,” Joonmyun starts. He pauses, allowing Baekhyun time to voice his doubts, but Baekhyun does not doubt Sehun’s words. “Then I believe we’ve found his hiding place.” He flips to another page of the journal, and a diagram of the moon’s phases in conjunction with Night Hunt is pictured there.

“The moon,” Baekhyun breathes. “He’s on the moon.”

“And his power draws the gates of Hell open, pulling the miasma up towards himself for sustenance,” Joonmyun says. “He’s the power upset.”

"Lord Tamer knows why," Baekhyun states. Joonmyun's expression hardens.

"The Lord Tamer has his secrets for a reason, Baekhyun," he says. His energy, his power as a Tamer is suddenly strong in the room, and despite knowing Joonmyun won't tame him, Baekhyun's instincts have his fangs dropping in his mouth. He flexes his fingers, presses his nails against his palms in an attempt to calm himself.

"If he's holding secrets that could end all the death we suffer during a Night Hunt," Baekhyun hisses. "Then it doesn't matter what his reasons are. We need to know."

"Baekhyun!" Joonmyun snaps. "Respect Lord Minseok. It's not your place to question." Tension crackles from him, and the warmth of hellfire spreads through Baekhyun's body.

"I'm just gonna put this away," Taehyung says suddenly. The tension in the room snaps, and Baekhyun reminds himself to breathe, drawing his claws and fangs back. Taehyung hums. "And maybe I'll call out Jimin."

Joonmyun settles a hand over Taehyung's wrist as the Tamer reaches for his plate. "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat, Baekhyun?" Joonmyun asks, grabbing up the plate himself. 

"No, sir," Baekhyun answers. He licks his lips, hoping to grab just a taste of the miasma in the air. Do demons always feel like this when they're on the Earth plane, Baekhyun wonders.

"I have some miasma I've retained for experiments," Joonmyun offers. "Would that--?"

Baekhyun swallows hard. "No, sir. Thank you," he forces himself to say. Right now, he needs to be a Tamer not a demon. Joonmyun regards him coolly. 

“I’m not immortal, Baekhyun,” Joonmyun says. “Kyungsoo has been around longer than me. Maybe you should ask him what secrets he’s hiding before you demand to know what Lord Minseok is hiding.” Then, he grabs Taehyung's empty glass and sweeps out of the room.

“Wow,” Taehyung breathes. “You sure pissed him off.”

"Taehyung," Baekhyun says, watching Joonmyun’s back disappears around the corner. "Why did you send Jimin back to Prince Jongdae the moment you got me out of the gate?"

Taehyung shrugs. "His prince is keeping tabs on you," he says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why?" Baekhyun demands. Taehyung shrugs again.

"I don't know." Baekhyun forces himself to not bare his teeth. For all of Taehyung's knowledge and keeping mum about rituals of his people, he's not a good liar. He's lying right now. And Baekhyun doesn't know why.

"Can I ask you something?" Taehyung questions. He launches into it before Baekhyun can give an affirmative. "Just now when you mentioned the lives lost on Night Hunt, you said 'the death we suffer.'" He licks his lips. "Who is 'we?'" Demons or humans -- those are the only two possible answers. Baekhyun sees Joonmyun's Tamer's coat around the corner. He takes a breath and copies Taehyung's answer from earlier. It's the only safe response.

"I don't know."

***

The steps up to the Gatewatcher facilities seem smaller and less grand than Baekhyun remembers. The castle-like structure pales in comparison to the grand stone fortress that makes up Sehun’s court and Prince Jongdae’s court. He has walked up these steps very few times, spending most of his time inside the facility, but this time feels like a turning point. The weight of it settles on his shoulders. He’s entering Gatewatchers as a Tamer; he’s entering Gatewatchers as a demon.

Baekhyun strides through the long corridors towards the Lord Tamer’s office with Joonmyun at his side. The Second Tamer’s presence is both calming and annoying. He’ll ensure Baekhyun isn’t killed the moment he steps into the First Tamer’s domain, but he also isn’t Sehun. Baekhyun’s palms tingle with the need to call Sehun to him. He can feel his presence through the blood exchange, but he’s distracted, focused on restoring his court before they’re caught in another fight.

With Queen Jessica’s death, Krystal’s rage will no doubt befall Sehun’s court. Baekhyun wants the distinct pleasure of tearing her head from her shoulders for all the grief she’s caused his demon.

“Ready?” Joonmyun’s voice breaks Baekhyun from his thoughts. His hand settles on Baekhyun’s shoulder. Baekhyun shrugs him off, squares his shoulders, and breathes in deep through his nose, making sure his fangs aren’t showing.

He strides forward, throwing the doors to the First Tamer’s office open. As expected, the Lord Tamer stands on his dais, mask secure over his face.

“Baekhyun,” he murmurs. “And my First Tamer.” No demons stand at the Lord Tamer’s sides, but his switchblade is in his hand.

“How are you today, Minseok?” Joonmyun greets. “I brought our little lost Tamer.” He ruffles Baekhyun’s hair, and the halfling fights to not bare his teeth. Joonmyun tugs sharply on Baekhyun’s hair, a warning.

“Lord Tamer.” Baekhyun bows. 

The Lord Tamer regards Baekhyun with his body set nearly in a defensive stance. “How good of you to come _home,_ Tamer Baekhyun.”

“I apologize for taking so long, Lord Tamer,” Baekhyun responds. “Hell Queen Wendy was killed in rescuing your son, and further help to retrieve me was heavily miscommunicated.” It’s a lie, but Baekhyun can’t exactly say to his boss’ face that he knows he refused to assist in retrieving Baekhyun from the Hell plane. 

“There was nothing I could do,” the Lord Tamer says. He flicks his wrist, and the flash of his blade under the light is a warning. “Without a hell queen, there was no way for me to have a human Tamer retrieved.”

Minseok goes on. “It seems to me what returned to my organization is a demon, not a Tamer.”

Baekhyun opens his mouth to respond, eyebrows drawn down, but Joonmyun jumps in.

“Lord Minseok,” he says. “Alongside Tamer Baekhyun and Tamer Taehyung, I have discovered something that you might find interesting.”

The lines of the Lord Tamer’s shoulders soften immediately as he regards his right-hand man. “And what would that be?”

“The cause of Night Hunt,” Joonmyun answers simply.

“Demons,” the First Tamer says.

“No,” Joonmyun interjects. “Just one demon. The worlds are connected by a presence of demonic power on this world. The strongest of all demon powers.”

“So he’s here,” the Lord Tamer breathes. Baekhyun jerks up.

“He?” he repeats. “You know the Demon King?”

The Lord Tamer ignores him. “Anything else Joonmyun?”

“His location,” Joonmyun continues. He brushes his fingers down Baekhyun’s back in a gesture of calm, but it only draws attention to the burning of Baekhyun’s markings. “He’s on the moon.”

“I see.” Lord Tamer flips his blade over, pressing it shallowly to his palm.

“Who are you calling?” Joonmyun asks. The Lord Tamer’s covered face turns in Baekhyun’s direction.

“No one,” he says. “Not while he’s here.”

“Do you think I don’t know who your demons are?” Baekhyun asks with his lip curled back. “What does it matter?”

“Demons of another court don’t react well to other princes,” the Lord Tamer says. “I would prefer to not set you off.”

Baekhyun steps back out of shock. “I’m not a demon!” he shouts. “I know your demons! I grew up beside them! I’m not going to suddenly explode just because I’ve been in my demon’s court!” Baekhyun pants with the force of his outburst, ignoring the flash of sadness, something like rejection, in his chest. It’s Sehun’s, but Baekhyun can’t deal with that right now.

The Lord Tamer’s voice is low, accusatory. “Aren’t you?” 

It takes Baekhyun a moment to catch on to the First Tamer’s meaning, but slowly he notes his fangs, his claws, and the continued reverberation in his throat. He doesn’t move to calm his body, but he does take a breath, ignoring the lack of miasma and fixing his eyes on the Lord Tamer.

“They call you the hell reject on their plane,” Baekhyun says. It’s not helping his case to bring up his knowledge of the Hell plane, but he doesn’t care. He wants answers if he’s going to be regarded as a demon by the man he’s supposed to trust with his life. “Did Hell spit you out with the Demon King?”

“Keep talking, halfling,” Lord Tamer snarls. “Prove your ignorance.” Baekhyun blows past his warning, too worked up, too angered to stop.

“Why did the Demon King come to the Earth plane after you went down to the Hell plane?” Baekhyun demands. “Why did Night Hunt start when you went where humans aren’t supposed to go?” Baekhyun’s voice echoes across the room, the reverberation starting in his own throat. He shuts his mouth immediately. He’s never sounded like that before-- like a demon.

“Don’t make demands like an untamed demon,” Lord Tamer says. “You sound exactly like one right now.”

“I am half demon,” Baekhyun says. “But I am half human too. You seem to have forgotten that.” He turns on his heel and storms out, not caring that his fangs and his claws are showing. If he had a tail, he’s sure it would be lashing behind him. 

The slam of the Lord Tamer’s office doors is something a relief to Baekhyun’s ears, and he continues down the hallway, waiting until he’s turned the corner back towards his dorm room before he moves to slash his claws down his palm. Sehun probably isn’t ready to be called, but Baekhyun _needs_ him. He needs the burst of miasma that comes with his arrival, needs to feel the balance that comes with being in his presence. 

“Baekhyun,” interrupts Baekhyun before he can drip blood on the corridor floor and call up his demon. Taehyung’s arm hooks around Baekhyun’s elbow, pulling him along, tucking himself along Baekhyun’s side, the flash of color of Baekhyun’s markings hidden by Taehyung’s coat. He sags against his friend, breathing in the feeling of another demon running through Taehyung’s veins.

“He’s watching you,” Taehyung hisses. “You have to be careful.”

“Which ‘he?’” Baekhyun snorts. “My demon? Lord Tamer? Prince Jongdae? Someone else?” 

Taehyung flashes him a grin. “All of the above. But only one of them is an actual threat to you.” He doesn't have to say who, the reason for Baekhyun’s current rage is the obvious choice.

“Lord Tamer treated me like a demon, Taehyung,” Baekhyun murmurs. “He wanted me dead a month ago, and that hasn’t changed.” He shows his teeth.

“Acting like a demon isn’t going to help you at all,” Taehyung says. He’s keeping his voice low; it’s almost soothing. “If you want to get any answers from him, you need to prove you’re human.”

“I’m not full human,” Baekhyun argues. “That’s reason enough for him now that I’ve got the blood of a Demon Prince running through me.”

“You always have, princeling,” Taehyung reminds him. Baekhyun shakes his head at the other Tamer’s silly beliefs. Taehyung just sighs and keeps dragging Baekhyun away from the Lord Tamer’s office. Baekhyun allows himself to be dragged, simply walking without a thought to the direction he’s being herded. He drags a hand down the side of his face.

“You called me back to the Earth plane like you would a demon,” Baekhyun whispers as they turn another corridor. “I can’t be as human as he wants me to be.”

“Are you more demon?” Taehyung asks.

“What if I am?” Baekhyun tries. “If I was a halfling before I tamed Sehun, now I’m slightly more demon than human.”

“Then why did you come back?” Taehyung interrupts Baekhyun’s pitying words. He’s serious, meeting Baekhyun’s eyes without smile or his tongue sticking out.

“Because--” Baekhyun cuts himself off. He doesn’t know. Originally, he wanted to return because this is where he’s supposed to be as a Tamer. Then he spent time in Sehun’s court and found something that almost felt like belonging. This plane, the Earth plane, is definitely not Baekhyun’s home. So why did he return?

“Are you just stubborn?” Taehyung questions. He nudges Baekhyun’s hip playfully with his own. “Did you miss me that much?”

Baekhyun had missed being here. He had missed being human, but now that he’s here, human doesn’t seem to fit him nearly as much as he had hoped.

“Listen,” Taehyung cuts in. “This world needs to be put back in order. Both worlds need to be put back in order. You’re the only connection between both planes.”

“Do you want me to be some kind of hero?” Baekhyun asks, eyebrows raised in incredulity.

“Aren’t you already, Tamer?” Taehyung shoots back, and Baekhyun looks away. He’s a member of the organization that fights to keep the public safe from demons during Night Hunt. He’s the one who went down to hell to save the Lord Tamer’s son, his friend Kyungsoo, but he didn’t go for Kyungsoo. He went for Sehun. But he did stand beside Sehun through every attack on his court. None of that makes him a hero. He is both human and demon, and all that means is that he has no definite place in this war between worlds. 

Maybe when he said ‘we suffer’ back in Joonmyun’s home, he meant humans and demons both.

Maybe he only meant demons.

A flash of of Sehun’s pleased smile passes through Baekhyun’s mind, and if he focuses on the blood exchange, the faint pulse of it, he can almost hear Sehun’s low growl of agreement, his resolution to stand behind Baekhyun. If nothing else, Baekhyun is the only one asking the questions whose answers have been buried for hundred years all in an attempt to find out _who_ he is.

Taehyung halts in front of Baekhyun’s room, pressing Baekhyun’s key card into his hand. “Jimin and I managed to get it,” he explains. “Had to throw some of my blood under the door to call him up on that side. Didn’t know you could do gates a distance away, didja?” He’s grinning, and Baekhyun doesn’t have the will to tell him he did know the gates could be controlled from a distance. It’s how Kyungsoo was saved; it’s how Wendy was weakened enough to be caught and killed. 

Baekhyun simply nods and unlocks his door, slipping inside. Taehyung follows him in, hurrying into Baekhyun’s kitchen to grab a granola bar. 

“You’re not going to eat this, right?” Taehyung asks with half of it already in his mouth. Baekhyun’s stomach heaves.

“No,” he says. Taehyung grins, and stuffs the other half of the breakfast bar in his mouth. Baekhyun sits down on his small couch, unlacing his boots and taking off his jacket. He stares at the gold emblem.

“I bet Jimin misses you,” Taehyung says, plopping down next to Baekhyun. 

“I doubt that,” Baekhyun counters, but Taehyung has already nicked his fingers along the edge of his short knife, dripping blood over the wood laminate. “Jimin,” Taehyung orders. “ _Come._ ” 

The gate swirls open with a burst of miasma, and Baekhyun almost moans with relief at the taste of the miasma. His throat feels soothed and his body calms, the ache of separation from Sehun calming. No matter how much Baekhyun doesn’t like Jimin, he appreciates Taehyung opening the gate for him to have just a moment to breathe in the miasma of Hell. 

“Yes, Tamer,” Jimin murmurs as he steps out of the gate. Baekhyun tries to subtly take in another gulp of miasma rich air before the gate closes, but Jimin’s eyes narrow on him.

“Missing Hell, halfling?” he sneers. Baekhyun doesn’t even try to hold back his answering snarl. Taehyung jumps up.

“Jiminnie,” he sing-songs. “I want to spar. Come on.” He tugs his demon back towards Baekhyun’s door. “If you want to join us, princeling,” Taehyung adds, flinging the door open. “You’re welcome to-- oh.”

Baekhyun twists in his place on the couch. Prince Kai is standing in his doorway, his face quite serious. 

“Did Lord Tamer send you?” Baekhyun asks. The demon prince looks pointedly at Taehyung and Jimin. The notably shorter demon bares his teeth in a threat. The Lord Tamer’s two demons bow slightly to him, and even Taehyung looks slightly confused at that. Princes bowing to a duke? Baekhyun hadn’t seen Sehun or Prince Jongdae bow to anyone during his time on the Hell plane.

“No,” Kai says. “I came by myself.”

Baekhyun watches the prince's face. "Come in then."

Taehyung steps away from the door, and Jimin curves himself protectively around him Tamer. "Should I stay?" Taehyung asks. He glances towards Kai. Jimin's lips twitch, and the demon prince throws him a smirk.

"No," Baekhyun says. "You and your demon can go."

"Alright," Taehyung concedes. He grins then, and with something like a battle-cry, drags Jimin out the door with him. It slams behind them.

Awkward silence settles for a moment. Kai moves towards Baekhyun, and he pushes himself up to his feet. Kai visibly relaxes at the action, and he steps around the side of the couch, standing opposite of Baekhyun.

“What are you here for?” Baekhyun asks. He doesn’t feel threatened by Prince Kai’s presence, but he does feel a distinct disconnect from him. The blood exchange pulses in Baekhyun’s veins.

“To talk,” Kai says simply. “To ask how the the Earth plane feels now you’ve been down to my home plane.” The demon is smiling just slightly, and his eyes are warm. Behind them, Baekhyun can almost make out the dance of hellfire. 

“So you can tell Lord Tamer exactly how demon I’ve become?” Baekhyun accuses. Kai shakes his head, flopping down on the other end of Baekhyun’s couch. 

“So I can be sure you’re not about to keel over from the change in atmosphere,” Kai says. “The miasma isn’t exactly a large presence.” 

Baekhyun blinks, and it takes a moment before he can bring himself to nod. “It’s not, no,” he agrees.

“Your friend was very kind to open a hell gate near you,” Kai continues. “The air here used to burn my throat.”

“Yes,” Baekhyun says. His throat is still raw, and he can still taste the lingering miasma from the gate Taehyung had opened on his tongue. “There’s no miasma here.”

“There’s very little,” Kai sighs. “Yet we all survive.” Baekhyun flexes his fingers. Kai laughs a little. “We survive,” he emphasizes. “But we’re never at our full power even with the blood exchange.”

“The blood exchange?” Baekhyun prompts.

“A little human blood in us is enough to keep our bodies from tearing themselves to shreds in mad attempts to get back to the Hell plane,” Kai says with wide eyes. He’s very expressive; Baekhyun hadn’t really noticed that before, too caught up in keeping his own expression neutral. He doesn’t have to do that anymore. 

“What happens if you stay here too long?” Baekhyun asks, voice very quiet.

“Worried what might happen to you, halfling?” Kai asks. Baekhyun doesn’t answer him, but his flinch is enough to give away that Kai had been dead on target. Kai reaches out and settles a hand on Baekhyun’s knee.

“Nothing will happen to you,” he assures. “I’ve seen mid-levels driven mad because they refused to leave. Usually, a Tamer and a mid-level do not share a particularly strong bond. The blood exchange is minimal. You’re nearly half-human though, right?" Kai pats Baekhyun’s knee. “You’ll be okay, halfling.” He leans back against Baekhyun’s couch cushions, and Baekhyun lowers himself to sit as well.

“Thanks for the assurance,” Baekhyun says. Kai dips his head, and it’s that, that small gesture of servitude, that has Baekhyun relaxing, settling back on his couch. 

“You feel much more like a demon now,” Prince Kai murmurs. He sounds almost proud, and Baekhyun is _pleased_ to hear those words before he remembers he’s supposed to be reinstating himself as a Tamer. He quickly curls his hands into fists, hiding the black tips of his nails.

“You’ve always told me I’m more demon than human,” Baekhyun states. “Why would that change after spending a month in Hell?” 

Kai bursts into laughter. “Why, Baekhyun, don’t you know?” he crows in a mockery of words he murmured to Baekhyun just before handing him his plane ticket to Seoul. “You are just like me. I said these things to remind you that you can’t run from your demon side.” The demon prince’s expression is teasing. “And to rile you up. It was only _too easy._ ”

Baekhyun growls low in his throat in warning. Prince Kai only laughs again.

“I was just watching out for you,” Kai admits. “Minseok asked us all to keep tabs on you. It became a habit, I suppose.” If Baekhyun has known any demons in his life, he knows that’s not the full story. Demons never do seem to tell the full story.

“Lord Tamer never trusted me,” Baekhyun murmurs. Kai shakes his head in agreement.

“He couldn’t kill a child,” the demon prince explains. “And the Second Tamer took you in before Minseok could argue to keep you out.”

“Who brought me here?” Baekhyun asks. Kai gives a short shake of his head, mouth half-open like he wants to answer. “My mother?” Baekhyun prompts. “My father?” Kai is still; he doesn’t answer.

“Did you know my father?” Baekhyun presses on. “My demon parent? Did you--?”

A loud knock on the door cuts Baekhyun off; Prince Kai jolts up. The knock sounds again, and the demon prince gets to his feet, making his way towards the door.

“Prince Chanyeol is here,” he says, a little breathless, before he opens the door to Baekhyun’s quarters. 

“Prince Kai,” Chanyeol greets. He doesn’t sound shocked at all at the other demon prince’s presence. Baekhyun has no doubt he knew Kai was here. 

“Prince Chanyeol,” Kai returns. He gestures for Chanyeol to come inside, and the door clicks shut as the two demon princes make their way through Baekhyun’s room. It shouldn’t feel threatening to be in the presence of two demons Baekhyun has known his entire life. He suffered the force of Chanyeol’s power for years, and he’s suffered Kai’s temptations for years. However, right now, knowing how it feels to be in the court of his own demon prince, he feels as if he’s in the wrong place. His skin feels a bit tight, and his markings burn a little on his skin.

“So Prince Sehun has welcomed you into his court, I see,” Chanyeol says instead of greeting Baekhyun. “I told you hell would like you.” His smile is full of fangs and teeth, a cross between savage excitement and a leer. Kai’s fingers curl around Chanyeol’s wrists.

“Careful,” he hisses. Chanyeol rolls his eyes, relaxing back against Baekhyun’s couch and pulling Kai back against his chest. Baekhyun glances between the two of them, remembering the easy way Irene and Seulgi always fell together so easily.

“Yes, Prince,” Chanyeol murmurs. 

“Why are you here?” Baekhyun asks. Though Chanyeol and Kai are princes of separate courts, he wonders if between them there is something deeper than a need for physical contact. He’s seen Eternity bonds in action, and he’s felt whatever he and Sehun have. But Baekhyun has also felt the intense loneliness of the empty air of the Earth plane and felt the extreme longing for Sehun’s touch. The two princes’ reliance on each other could be nothing more than simple need.

The markings on Baekhyun’s back prick a little, and he shifts in his seat, trying to ignore the itch.

“I was looking for Prince Kai,” Chanyeol answers. “I can’t handle Minseok and Joonmyun at the same time alone for long.” Kai reaches back, brushing his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair. 

“Does it still hurt you?” he asks.

“Does what hurt?” Baekhyun intrudes.

Kai opens his mouth, but Chanyeol shushes him. “My Tamer was the Second Tamer. I’m bound to obey him.”

“But Lord Tamer is your Tamer now,” Baekhyun says.

“Minseok holds my blood exchange, but Joonmyun is the one who tamed me. He handed the bond over years after it had settled. That’s when he took the Second Tamer position,” Chanyeol explains. “It was more of a show of loyalty.”

“The transfer was because Minseok wanted more power,” Kai corrects. “He wanted another demon prince in his possession. Joonmyun doesn’t have any particular need for a demon, so he handed him over.” Baekhyun bites his bottom lip. He’s seen Chanyeol obey Joonmyun without question even without the bond. The loyalty of the demon race to those they consider theirs is something he can’t underestimate, not after feeling Sehun’s pain at the loss of his court members and the way Sehun held true to his promise to return Baekhyun to the Earth plane.

“Joonmyun has always been more interested in his experiments than having a demon,” Baekhyun says. Chanyeol smirks around his fangs.

“He’s a very powerful man,” Chanyeol says. “He almost made being Tamed feel like an honor.” His voice drops. “Minseok is not the same way.” Kai shakes his head, the tips of his ears brushing across Chanyeol’s jaw. 

“Minseok is powerful,” Kai agrees. “But anyone would be with that much demon blood in their veins.” He looks sharply at Baekhyun. Baekhyun is powerful; he tamed a demon prince to prove that. Kai’s words, however, feel like some sort of hint.

“He’s only missing two princes in his collection,” Chanyeol hisses. “After Joonmyun handed me over.” He taps his fingers against Kai’s elbow. Baekhyun taps his own fingers in agitation. “That was over twenty years ago. The Old Demon Wars hadn’t ended then.”

Kai nods. “They would have ended sooner if Minseok had managed to tame the last two princes.” His tail lashes, and his grin is feral.

“I tamed Sehun,” Baekhyun says. “So--”

“My brother, Prince Jongdae,” Kai tells him. “He’s the last untamed prince.” He smirks. “Of course the Demon King is untamed as well.” The demon prince gets to his feet, stretching his arms up. “He’s still alive,” he says.

“He’s not going to die until he lets himself be killed,” Chanyeol adds. “He’s stubborn.”

“Did you know him?” Baekhyun asks. 

“No,” Kai answers. “My brother did. I was made after the King disappeared.”

“I didn’t either,” Chanyeol says. “I wanted my own court. Not to be a part of his.” Baekhyun’s fangs drop in frustration. A dead end. For the first time, he’s finally hearing information about the Demon King and the Lord Tamer. 

“Why are you telling me this now?” Baekhyun asks. 

“It’s allowed now,” Kai answers. 

“And what does that mean?” Neither Kai nor Chanyeol offer a response to that; Baekhyun didn’t expect them to.

“I’m expected back with my tamer soon,” Chanyeol says. “Minseok wanted me to tell you that any sign of demonic behavior will be grounds for termination.” He makes to stand, and Baekhyun stands as well.

“I’m a Tamer,” he says, yet the only person he needs to convince of that fact is not in the room.

“One last thing,” Chanyeol says. “When you next speak to Minseok, ask him why he wears his mask.”

“If you could see his face,” Kai adds on, leaning forward. “You would understand so much more.”

“Lord Tamer always wears his mask,” Baekhyun counters. “To hide the horrors in his eyes.” The halfling laughs. “I’ve seen hell.”

“You haven’t seen it during the Old Demon wars,” Kai tells him. “Those were some of the Hell plane’s darkest days.”

“Those only ended twenty-one years ago,” Chanyeol says. “Hell hasn’t fully recovered.” He looks at Kai. “You were at war alongside your brother then, and I was almost always here with Joonmyun and then Minseok. The destruction I saw then is still prevalent if you know where to look.”

“There hasn’t been peace in Hell since then,” Kai argues. “Of course our home is still damaged.”

“Is there ever peace in Hell?” Baekhyun asks. He’d been there less than an hour before a war had started.

“Not without a Demon King,” Chanyeol says. He leans forward suddenly, hands on Baekhyun’s shoulder. The warmth of the hellfire that seems to follow him everywhere is overwhelming, and Baekhyun wishes it were Sehun’s hands on him instead. “Listen to me about Minseok.” Chanyeol’s voice sounds almost like an order. “Trust me, Baekhyun. His mask has nothing to do with his eyes.”

“Does is have anything to do with the title of ‘hell reject?’” Baekhyun asks. Chanyeol blinks; Kai bursts out laughing.

“They also call the Demon King that in some courts,” Kai says. “You should talk to his son. Kyungsoo might know.” Kyungsoo has never said much about his father to Baekhyun, but it would make sense for him to know quite a bit about the man who raised him. And after one-hundred years of working in Gatewatchers, Kyungsoo is bound to know something about his father and the Demon King. 

Baekhyun hopes he does.

“Minseok is calling me,” Chanyeol says. He opens the door. “I have to go.” Kai reaches up and brushes a hand down the side of Chanyeol’s face.

“Good luck,” he murmurs, and the taller demon prince strides away.

“Do you also need to leave?” Baekhyun asks Prince Kai once the door is closed again.

“I need to go back to my court,” the demon prince says. He holds out his arm. “Will you send me?”

Baekhyun nods. Opening the gate for Kai will give him another chance to breathe in the miasma, and he’s in place to say no to that. He shows his claws, about to slash through Kai’s skin and drip his blood on the floor, but Kai snatches his arm back.

“I’m allowed to say only so much,” he says. “Promise me you’ll speak to Kyungsoo.”

“What should I ask him?” 

“About his mother,” Kai answers. He shows his arm again. Baekhyun lets his claws fully extend and his fangs drop as he rips through the soft skin of Kai’s arm. The blood drips over his fingertips and to the floor, opening a hell gate beneath the demon prince’s feet. 

“Demon Prince Kai,” Baekhyun says, and the echo in his voice is almost a welcome sound. “ _Leave._ ”

“Promise me,” Kai repeats as he sinks into the gate. Baekhyun nods, holding the prince’s gaze. He breathes in the miasma, and reaches for Sehun. Over the blood exchange, the prince reaches back for him. Like this, Baekhyun doesn’t feel alone.

***

Kyungsoo isn’t in the hospital wing cooped up in a recovery bed, and Baekhyun doesn’t know why he expected him to be when it’s now been over a month since the First Tamer’s son returned to the Earth plane with his body torn to shreds. His immortality alongside his demons’ blood should be enough to have him back to full healthy by now.

Baekhyun leans against the hallway wall. He’s been awake for too many hours trying to piece together everything he knows about Night Hunt, about the Demon King, about the Lord Tamer, in order to find where they all connect. They’re the reason Night Hunt exists, but why?

And if Lord Tamer knows the why, then he also knows how to end it. Why doesn’t he want Night Hunt to end? He created Gatewatchers to keep people safe from demons, yet he isn’t doing anything to stop them from coming onto the Earth plane. It doesn’t make any sense. Baekhyun keeps going around in circles, everything leading to dead ends or more questions.

“Baekhyun?”

The halfling jolts from his thoughts, spinning on his heel.

“Hyung,” he says. “I thought you weren’t down here. The staff told me you’d left.” Kyungsoo holds up a small white paper bag.

“Antibiotics,” he explains. “I’ve been out for a few days now.”

“You’re okay,” Baekhyun breathes. He didn’t expect the relief that surges through him to be this strong, but it is, nearly bowling him over. It's nice to know that he wasn't trapped in Hell for an extended stay for nothing. Kyungsoo looks healthy; he's fine.

“Alive,” Kyungsoo says. “Thanks to you, I hear.”

"My demon," Baekhyun tells him. "My demon is really the one who saved you. And Wendy."

"Baekhyun," Kyungsoo interrupts, settling his hand on Baekhyun's shoulder. His touch is warm, and his face is serious. This is the Kyungsoo Baekhyun knows even if he smells a bit strongly of the gates of Hell. He commands attention even without his demons at his side. One-hundred years in this organization has yet to break him; now that he's immortal, Baekhyun doubts he ever will. "I'm thanking you for what you did."

Baekhyun nods his head slowly. "Hyung," he whispers. Kyungsoo's following smile is bright even if a bit oddly placed on the serious lines of his face.

"So," the Lord Tamer's son says. "You were looking for me?"

"Yeah." Baekhyun glances around at the empty hallway. "I wanted to talk." Kyungsoo's eyes widen with comprehension.

"Come with me," he says. "We can talk in my room. My demons aren't around right now, and the space could use the company." His voice is bright, but he turns and strides off with his head held high, purpose in his step. Baekhyun follows him, walking just slightly behind him. Kyungsoo leads him deeper into the headquarters, up a back elevator, and into a room that looks nearly identical to Baekhyun's.

"I don't need much," Kyungsoo explains at Baekhyun's slightly dumbfounded expression. "I'm not here for a luxurious lifestyle."

"Your demons think it's sparse," Baekhyun states, remembering the dark but lavishly decorated room Seulgi and Irene live in at their home court. Sehun's rooms had also been well-decorated, and a flash of him, spread out across one of his rugs, silver hair askew and chest flushed, comes unbidden to Baekhyun's mind. The blood exchange flares up suddenly, singing a curious tune. Baekhyun shoves it down. _Focus,_ he reminds himself. _Breathe._

Kyungsoo laughs once. "Yes," he agrees. "They do. They don't have to see it for awhile though."

Baekhyun merely gives Kyungsoo a glance to ask why. It's getting harder to stay away from his usual habits of holding his demon side at bay even if he feels fully in control. It's just easy to continue in the old charade he used to play; it's probably the fasted way to convince Lord Tamer he's not a threat after all. He's starting to feel like he's meant to be here, on the human plane. He can't tell if the burning at the back of his throat at the idea is pleasure or disgust.

"They've asked me for a couple days to themselves," Kyungsoo elaborates. "I agreed, of course."

"My demon's court was attacked the night I was returned here," Baekhyun tells him. "His duke was killed in the battle." Kyungsoo looks far away for just a moment, sympathy crossing his features. He's still in contact with his demons then.

"Your demon has made the same request?" Kyungsoo asks. Baekhyun simply nods. "I see. But you're not here to kill any loneliness. What do you want to talk about?" He gestures to his kitchen table, and Baekhyun settles into a chair, waiting for Kyungsoo to do the same.

"Lord Tamer," Baekhyun says. "I want to ask you about him."

Kyungsoo freezes, hand halfway to his chin. "My father." His words come slowly. "Baekhyun, I don't think I can tell you--"

"Don't lie," Baekhyun requests. "Don't tell me you don't know anything. He's your _father._ " Not that Baekhyun knows anything about what having a father is like; he's never met his.

Kyungsoo is quiet. He gets up, goes to the kitchen and pours himself a glass of water. When he sits, he closes his eyes, takes a long drink and swallows. Baekhyun flexes his fingers, waiting. When Kyungsoo opens his eyes again, he's sitting up straight. He looks determined.

"What do you want to know?"

Baekhyun can't stop one corner of his mouth from quirking up, prematurely triumphant.

"His mask," he decides after a moment of consideration. "Why does he wear it?"

Kyungsoo props his elbows up on the table. "I don't know everything," he reminds. "My father is a very secretive man."

"Just what you do know," Baekhyun says. "Tell me that."

Kyungsoo sighs. "I haven't seen my father without his mask since before he tamed Chanyeol," he admits. "It was right after I turned seventy-six." His smile is dry. "I look nothing like him."

"Your mother, then?" Baekhyun prompts. Kyungsoo shrugs.

"Yes," he agrees. "Definitely more like her. Of course, she died almost fifty years ago." He shakes his head, exhaling. "Immortality has its curses," he says. "But it's fragile. Without the miasma that comes up here during Night Hunt, I'm just--"

"Human," Baekhyun says. "I guess I'm less than half of one then."

"My father is probably in that boat with you." Kyungsoo looks concerned, and maybe a little angry. "Considering how much demon blood is in his system." He sighs again. "And not just mid-level demon blood. Multiple princes and princesses. I wonder if he looks like one now. That would be a valid reason to wear a mask. I can only theorize about that, though."

"He's the one who made the rule against taming more than one demon," Baekhyun starts. "He can't--"

"He can," Kyungsoo argues. "He made the rules. He can break the rules. He's in charge here. Who is going to stop him?" No one can, Baekhyun thinks, but that just makes the Lord Tamer power hungry. He's immortal, he control multiple demons of the highest tier, and he's in charge of a large organization. Baekhyun clenches his fist.

"I've only known two people who could defy my father," Kyungsoo continues. "His Second Tamer, and there was a woman who left right before Joonmyun took that position. She and Joonmyun were friends though, trained together. So I suppose it's not surprising they shared some of their personalities."

"Who was she?" Baekhyun asks.

"A bit of a famous name too young for the textbooks," Kyungsoo says. "They called her the Angel of Death. Possibly the best Tamer who ever came through here."

Baekhyun's thoughts screech to a halt. "The Angel of Death," he murmurs. "I know her."

Kyungsoo's eyebrows disappear into his hairline. "You do?"

"I was--" Baekhyun starts, stops, and starts again. "There was a time when I was on the Hell plane where I left my demon's court. I ended up in Prince Jongdae's court instead." He skips over being attacked by that creature Yixing because of his own stupidity in attempting to run away. "He had these large tapestries depicting the Ole Demon Wars."

"Ah," Kyungsoo murmurs. "Yes. She ended those."

"And he ended her," Baekhyun finishes. Kyungsoo blinks at him.

"Right," he says. "She vanished from our ranks at the same time as the wars ended."

"Death can do that," Baekhyun mutters.

"It can," Kyungsoo agrees.

"I know more about her than my own mother," Baekhyun laughs humorlessly. "I don't even know if my mother was a part of this organization." Kyungsoo coughs sharply, and Baekhyun leans over to nudge his water glass towards him. Kyungsoo flicks his fingers in dismissal.

"Actually, I trained your mother," Kyungsoo says. "She was very talented. You're a lot like her."

Baekhyun sits up straight, his heart pounding in his chest. His mother was a _Tamer._ "Who was she?" he demands. "Where is she?"

Kyungsoo's expression turns apologetic. "I can't tell you."

Baekhyun wants to snarl. "If the Lord Tamer told you that, then--"

"He didn't," Kyungsoo cuts in. "She asked me not to tell you."

Baekhyun slumps in his seat. "But why?" he nearly whines.

"It was easier for you to grow up here without knowing her," Kyungsoo answers, evasive and vague. Baekhyun growls; he should be used to these responses by now.

"No one wants a half-demon," he hisses.

"That's not true," Kyungsoo snaps. "There are people on both planes who want you very much. You're not alone in this world, Baekhyun. Even if you think you are." He sounds personally offended, and Baekhyun glances away.

"I'm sorry, hyung," he whispers. "I just want to know." Kyungsoo taps the back of Baekhyun's fist with his first two fingers. The gesture is calming despite its awkwardness.

"Ask me something else," Kyungsoo says. "You came here to talk about my father."

Baekhyun takes a deep breath, fighting to calmly exhale the dry air. He really doesn't understand how any of the demons around here can stand the lack of miasma.

"Your mother," Baekhyun begins. "Was she...?" he trails out, unsure of where to lead his question.

Kyungsoo seems to have an idea, picking up easily from Baekhyun's unasked question. "They weren't married," he says. "They weren't in love, even. I think it was just a casual arrangement. Stress relief." Baekhyun watches Kyungsoo, keeping his eyes trained on his expression even as Kyungsoo seems to completely avoid his gaze.

"Anything I know about this I know from her," Kyungsoo explains. "My father hasn't ever spoken to me about this. He was married once, I know that. It was something like five-hundred years ago."

That's an important number. "That's when Night Hunt began," Baekhyun says.

"Yes," Kyungsoo whispers. "It was." He coughs again. "Apparently, my father had been trying to use the demon worshiping clan's methods to call up a demon. He wasn't able to do it properly, no one but the worshipers can. Still, the Demon King found it amusing and came up to greet him."

"Wendy did tell me that Lord Tamer wanted to tame the Demon King," Baekhyun says.

"He failed," Kyungsoo confirms. "Obviously, as we have no idea where the Demon King is."

"The moon," Baekhyun tells him. "Joonmyun pieced it together. The moon always looks red during Night Hunt from the miasma. But that's where it all is going. Sustenance for the King." Kyungsoo just shakes his head.

"That man can solve anything, can't he," he says fondly with half-sigh half-laugh.

"I can explain more," Baekhyun offers. Kyungsoo waves him off.

"I'll ask Second Tamer tomorrow," Kyungsoo says. "For now, I-- well. As far as I know, The Demon King indulged my father in some sort of a relationship. They were lovers or something to that effect."

"Demons don't take lovers," Baekhyun cuts in. "Sex, sure. But lovers, no. Loving someone is sacred for demons. Love is eternal for them." _For us,_ runs through Baekhyun's mind, an image of himself at Sehun's side alongside it. Kyungsoo quiets for a long moment, and Baekhyun can practically see the wheels turning in his head, something clicking into place for him. He waits impatiently for Kyungsoo to share.

"Then it makes sense that when my father met his wife, when he left the Demon King, the Demon King was jealous." His bites his lower lip. "Is that really all there is to this?" Kyungsoo exhales, and his breath is shaky. His hands shake just slightly in his lap. Anger and confusion: Baekhyun can recognize those.

"He could just have been loyal to Lord Tamer," Baekhyun suggests, but it sounds hollow even to him. Kyungsoo starts shaking his head even before Baekhyun completes his thought. "Demons are loyal creatures. He could have just wanted to watch over the First Tamer."

"That can't be right," the older Tamer says. "That doesn't make sense."

"Why?" Baekhyun prompts.

"The other part of the story is that at some point, the Demon King threatened my father and his wife," Kyungsoo says. "That's when he tamed Prince Kris and became the First Tamer. He did it in order to protect himself and his wife."

"But his immortality," Baekhyun tries. "That doesn't give him a reason to have been down to Hell at all. If the Demon King was already here on this plane, then Night Hunt could have started at any time." He stares hard at his palms. "They _all_ call him 'hell reject' on the Hell plane." He shakes his head, worrying his lip between his teeth. "Something is missing still."

"Damnit," Kyungsoo grits through his teeth. "I don't know. I don't even know who my father really is. I never have, but this. This is--" He stops himself, breathing hard. Baekhyun gives him all the time he needs. Snarling the words 'hell reject' sounds really good to Baekhyun at this point.

"Hyung," he tries.

"I don't know, Baekhyun," Kyungsoo says. "I don't know everything. I only know what I've been told by my mother. And I don't know her sources."

Baekhyun swallows. "Too much of this makes sense to disregard," he says, tapping his nails on the table. "But there aren't enough answers. Not yet."

"There's one other thing," Kyungsoo offers. "I don't know if it matters."

"Tell me," Baekhyun requests. His head is starting to spin.

"My mother used to tell me that my father wasn't in love with him," Kyungsoo clarifies. "The Demon King. She said he was in love with his power."

"And was the Demon King in love with him?" Baekhyun asks. Kyungsoo shakes his head.

"I don't know," he admits. He looks at Baekhyun, meeting his eyes for the first time since the conversation began. "You know better than me the capacity of a demon's love. You would know best what a demon will do for his lover." Staying on the moon, Baekhyun thinks, just to stay close to the person he'd sworn loyalty to, definitely seems like something Baekhyun's demon would do, and the Demon King is Sehun's brother.

"Maybe," he says. "Demons have very little restraint."

"I know that much from watching you grow up," Kyungsoo tries to tease lightly, but his voice cracks. Baekhyun gets to his feet, and Kyungsoo looks up at him. "Is that everything?"

It's not everything, but it's a start. It's enough for Baekhyun to keep sliding the pieces into place, to know what's missing in the equation. Baekhyun nods. "Thank you," he says. "For telling me all of this."

"It's not everything you wanted to know," Kyungsoo tells him, but Baekhyun already knew that. "But it's all I can offer." Baekhyun sets his hand on Kyungsoo's shoulder this time, offering the slightest smile. He can feel the sharp points of his fangs just barely scraping along his lower lip.

"Thanks, hyung."

It's in a daze that Baekhyun returns to his own room, piecing together Kyungsoo's stories and the words of the Princes Kai and Chanyeol. The Lord Tamer is nothing at all like the man he is supposed to be, and Baekhyun is going to confirm that tomorrow when he goes to him with everything he has learned.

Hopefully then, the First Tamer will admit to the few missing pieces: Baekhyun's parents, his relationship with the Demon King, and why he's letting Night Hunt continue if he has a way to stop it.

Baekhyun's trust in the Lord Tamer is nearly snapped. He shouldn't be trusting a man who wants him dead anyway. Kyungsoo's statement about the amount of demon blood in the Lord Tamer's system rings in Baekhyun's ears. Is the Lord Tamer truly a man, or is he more like Baekhyun-- a halfling?

Baekhyun reaches his room, fumbling with his key for a moment, his claws, showing in his excitement and anger, making it a bit difficult to get his door open. He lets the door slam behind him as he walks in, throwing off his jacket.

The jacket lands on the floor with the crest face-up, and Baekhyun stares at it a moment before he leans down and snatches up the jacket, hooking his claws through the threads holding the crest on the fabric and tears it away.

Like this, without a Tamer's crest, he doesn't belong to Lord Tamer. He's just Baekhyun. Lord Tamer will try to kill him for this; Baekhyun is under no disillusions about the First Tamer's intent towards him. But Baekhyun is going to take this moment to feel free.

Baekhyun throws the curtains in his room open, staring up at the sliver of the moon.

"Sehun," he says out loud, listening to the blood exchange flare up, the reaching its crescendo as Sehun reaches out for him. Baekhyun's fangs show as he smiles, reflected in his window. He lets the image in front of him seep through the distance between him and his demon. For a moment, he can hear Sehun's breathing right in time with his own. "I've found your brother."

_I know._

"This war is going to end," Baekhyun says. "We're going to end it. You're going to see your brother again. I promise you this." He pushes all of his intent through the bond, hoping that Sehun can feel how much he means his words.

***

Kai steps out of the gate just outside of his court in the height of the members of his court running around fulfilling their chores. Each one he passes pauses to bow to him, to offer a welcome home message. Kai dips his head to each of them in turn, giving them his thanks.

In comparison to other courts, Kai's court is quite small. Where princes like his brother or Prince Chanyeol command courts of hundreds of demons, Kai boasts a humble mere one-hundred-seven loyalty bonds and only one duke. He treasures them all immensely. He knows the other princes care about their courts just as much as he does, but they don't' have the time to personally know each mid-level and low-level in their care.

Kai does have the time for that, and he makes sure to give the members of his court his attention whenever he can. His hours with them are more important than his hours with his Tamer by far.

"My prince," drawls from Kai's throne as he steps into his main courtroom. He doesn't keep a private one. With a court this small, there is little reason for that. "You weren't gone long."

"Duke Taemin," Kai grins. "How long did you expect me to be? You sure made yourself comfortable up there fast." Taemin shrugs, slinking unapologetically off of Kai's throne and tossing himself onto the bench set up beside it. That's where a duke belongs technically, but Kai doesn't mind him using his throne in his absence. He can run his court a bit differently if he wants to despite his brother's advice.

Prince Jongdae is the last untamed prince. His advice is probably worth listening to, but Kai has gotten too comfortable in his small court to start making strict rules now. His brother is powerful-- but such is to be expected when he is second in age only to the Demon King. Lu Han hasn't been seen for centuries though, and Kai, for the longest time, thought Jongdae would step up and take the position of Demon King. 

When Lu Han's power never dispersed across the Hell plane, he realized that wasn't going to happen.

Now, it seems the Demon King has been found. Really, the little halfling boy is turning out to be quite the delight to watch over.

"Are you even in this courtroom right now?" Taemin teases, and Kai jerks, shaking his head.

"Thinking," he says. "Don't interrupt."

"I have to," the duke counters. "I don't want to be letting you think too much and not have stopped you before there's hellfire coming out of your ears." Kai plops down on his throne and leans over to smack his duke upside his head. Taemin catches his hand and presses a kiss to his knuckles.

"The court is always happier when you're here," he murmurs. He tells Kai this every time he returns home, and Kai is always relieved to hear it.

"So you say," the demon prince teases in return, and Taemin's laughter bounces off of the wide arches that make up the courtroom.

"How ever do you manage to stay away from me for so long," Taemin tells him. "You can't crack jokes around the other princes." He puts on his best exaggerated frown. "They're too serious. Souls! Souls! Souls!" He dissolves into mad cackling by the end of his sentence, and Kai, for all the ridiculousness of his accusations (his brother happens to be one of the best pranksters Kai knows), can't stop himself from falling over in giggles too.

It's always nice to come home.

"So, my prince," Taemin asks after they've caught their breaths. "What is happening with the halfling today?" Kai rubs his chin.

"More demon than human," Kai says, nodding along with his own words. "Suffering sore throat from the lack of miasma on the Earth plane." Taemin grimaces.

"I don't miss being tamed for that reason most of all," he confesses dramatically like Kai hasn't heard it dozens of times before. "The air up there is awful."

"You don't have to tell me that," Kai says. "I am well aware."

Taemin twists in his seat and fixes Kai with a very serious stare. "You, my prince, managed to get caught by the wrong Tamer."

"A hassle of a Tamer, yes," Kai agrees. "But it's worked out well for everything I care to keep my eye on. Lord Minseok gives us too much leeway."

"So you always tell me," his duke murmurs. He rolls over. "Do you want to see members of your court today?" He doesn't give a second option, and Kai doesn't have a chance to invent one before a loyalist is careening into the courtroom. Kai leaps from his throne immediately, moving down the dais to meet her, pulling her into his arms.

"Whats happening?" he tries to soothe. "What's going on?" He leans back and offers the small loyalist a smile, wiping her cheeks with the backs of his hands.

"A-attack," the loyalist manages. "Th-the queens." She dissolves into another stream of tears, and Kai pulls her in close again, rubbing his hand up and down her pack to distract her and calm her. He glances at Taemin meaningfully, and the Duke springs into action, gathering the tiny loyalist in his arms and leading her back towards her room for rest.

Kai stands, closing his eyes and opening his heart to his loyalist bonds. The din of a fight slams into him, and Kai gasps, eyes flying open. "She's coming," he whispers to himself. Hopelessness crashes over his heart. Kai doesn't have the manpower to fight off an army and a hell queen who has just lost her sister.

Rage is almost palpable on the miasma in the air.

"Duke Taemin," Kai shouts across the contract between them. "We're under attack!" Kai doesn't wait another moment for Taemin to reach his side, instead throwing himself outside where his small court of misfits is standing at the gate, the few demons Kai has stationed in the battlements are perched on the stone, ready to throw themselves down into the fray when it start. The rest of his court stands immediately, moving to defend the gate to the court. Kai is proud of them, all of them standing to fight for their home.

He fears it won't be enough.

Just beyond the gates, lines of demons are appearing to fill the planes of orange grass, appearing more like a large creature than singular mid-levels and low-levels. He can't see a commander among them, but he recognizes some of these demons. The Court of Two Queens has no reason to attack him other than his being in a blood exchange with the First Tamer.

Courts have gone to war over less.

"We can't win," Kai breathes even though he hates to think it, despair cloying in his throat. There are so many of them. His small court simply can't stand up against the magnitude of demons heading their way.

"We can't win," Taemin echoes from beside Kai. "It's obvious. Look at the size of them." Kai can't stop looking. The army marching on his tiny court is several times larger than his court.

"You have to get out," Taemin says.

"What?" Kai demands. "This is my court. I can't leave."

Taemin grabs Kai's hands, gaze imploring. "My prince," Taemin says. "No of them will chase after one lone demon trying to escape the court."

"If that one lone demon is a prince, they will," Kai argues. "I'm not leaving my court to die."

"We don't want you dead either," Taemin tells him. "Go before they even know you're here."

"I won't." Kai shrugs away Taemin's grip only to pull his Duke into a tight hug. He scraped his nails along base of Taemin's neck. "You are my court. I won't leave."

Taemin shakes in Kai's hold. "You being here won't save us," he says. "We need another army."

"I can go to Prince Jongdae," Kai tries.

"There's not enough time!" Taemin hisses. "Go now, my prince. You can't die yet. The halfling boy needs you still." He smiles wryly. "And Prince Jongdae will kill you if you die." Kai can't stop half of a sob from leaving his mouth.

"Taemin," he starts.

"Prince Kai!" screams across the empty field. Kai looks up at a creature he's never had the misfortune meeting in person but has heard stories about. The forked tongue and long clawed hands are a giveaway.

"Yixing," Taemin exhales. "He's working with Queen Krystal." Kai shows his fangs. He's not exactly displeased at the loss of Queen Jessica, but Yixing, if the stories about him are to be believed, might be worse teamed up with Queen Krystal.

"Prince Kai!" Yixing shouts again. "Come out." Kai can hear the grin in his voice, the harsh scream of bloodlust just waiting to be released in the back of the creature's throat. He's ready for this slaughter. Kai's heart is already breaking as he glances at his demons, all of them standing behind the gates to his court, waiting for the order to attack.

"Your last chance," he urges. "Go, now!"

"Why are you here creature?" Kai shouts, stepping out to the front of his gate. Yixing cackles.

"Queen Krystal asked me to come," he says, slurring around his forked tongue. "A favor she said. I can't refuse the chance to taste the blood of a demon prince." He licks his lips. "How tasty will you be?"

Around him, his court bristles, and Taemin's fingers are urgent on Kai's wrist. "My prince," he whispers. "Please."

"Why are you bothering to speak, creature?" Kai demands. Yixing cocks his head to the side.

"I'm being polite, little prince," the creature says. His voice slides down Kai's spine and sinks poison into his veins. "Don't want to kill you without telling you Queen Krystal ordered this."

"Are you offering peace terms?" Kai asks. "Or are you just talking?"

Yixing gasps, clapping his hands together. The click of his claws is audible across the empty field separating them. "Looking forward to a fight, Prince?" he sneers and follows the exaggerated expression with a laugh. He leans forward, and a long lizard-like tail lashes around behind him. Kai lashes his own in response. Yixing grins. "Me too."

There's the span of breath, another whispered plea from Taemin, and the army of the Court of Two Queens, led by Yixing, surges forward.

"Stay back!" Kai screams at his demons. "Let them tire themselves trying to get through the gate." He steps back too, urging his court to move back with him. They do, still crouched in defensive positions, claws and teeth showing, tails lashing behind them.

Beside him, Taemin's overlong fangs are curling down over his chin as he screams. As one, the court stands waiting. Yixing crashes into the gate alongside his borrowed forces. One after another, they take turns throwing themselves at the iron, attempting to climb the castle walls.

"Wait," Kai growls. "Just wait for them."

There's a crack, a scream. A low-level splatters, body in pieces, in the gates. Behind her, a creature is thrown next. Its blood hisses through the air before it slams into the gates. Purple blood drips down the iron bars, and Yixing's laughter rises above it all.

"Acid," Taemin snarls. The gates are smoking, shaking more violently. Their creaking has Kai's demons taking another step back.

"I can smell your fear!" Yixing screams, lunging forward. He transforms mid-leap, his body twisting into the form of a giant chimera. He crashes into the gates, and the iron collapses under his weight. The army of the court of Two Queens surges forward, and the battle cries of both sides rise until the sky is churning with them.

A mid-level flings himself skyward, and Kai snarls, reaching up and tearing his throat from his neck before the demon can hiss his threats. The thrill of a fight surges through Kai's veins, and he throws himself into the fray, Taemin at his side.

"My prince," Taemin tries again, tearing through the stomach of an ugly creature. "We're not going to last long here."

"I'm not leaving my court, Duke," Kai snaps. He grabs onto the waist of his attacker with both hands and pulls, tearing her body into two pieces.

"Then we'll all die," Taemin argues. "And what will that accomplish?" Kai screams in anger and rage for his court. All around him, his demons are fighting valiantly, but the sheer number of demons that Yixing brought with him is enough to overwhelm a court twice the size of Kai's.

"My duke," Kai says. "I don't--"

"You know I'm right," Taemin shouts at him.

"Right about what?" interrupts them, and Kai only just manages to turn around before he's tackled to the ground, Yixing's chimera claws against his neck. Kai kicks up immediately, digging his heels into the creature's underbelly as hard as he can.

Yixing stumbles back, growling in excitement. His eyes are bright, and blood drips from his fangs and claws. It's splattered across his side, too, dripping through his fur. Kai's heart is in his throat at the thought of how many of his demons that blood belongs to.

"Go now," Taemin urges again.

"He'll kill you," Kai hisses back, teeth bared at the chimera lashing his lizard tail at him.

"Go!" Taemin screams, and Yixing leaps. Kai jumps to meet him, but Taemin shoves him back and leaps up himself, screaming as Yixing's teeth sink into his arm. He drags his own claws down Yixing's neck, and the two of them collapse to the ground, still tearing into each other. Yixing seems to be laughing through it even as Taemin screams in rage.

Kai stares. He looks left, then right. All around him, his court is being torn to shreds, and his only Duke isn't going to last much longer against Yixing.

One of Yixing's ears lands at his feet, accompanied by Yixing's furious scream and the final words Kai ever hears his Duke speak.

"My prince!" Taemin shouts, voice ringing on an order. Through the contract, Kai can feel his desperation for his prince to live. He lets out a dry sob.

"Goodbye," he whispers to his court. Hating himself even as he does, Kai turns and runs. He fights his way through the demons attacking him in a blind rage, blood and skin stuck under his claws as he tears his way through them. Yixing's screams of triumph echo in Kai's ears even as he gets out of visual range of the battle.

Taemin's contract snaps, and Kai screams, collapsing to his knees, clawing at the dirt as pain wracks through him. His Duke is dead.

"I'm sorry," he cries, pleading at the sky. "I'm sorry." He wipes at the tears tracking down his face, unable to stop the pain that overtakes him and rips his heart to shreds as each and every loyalty bond he'd held only an hour before snaps.

"I'm sorry," he repeats, but there's no one to apologize to. The red sky is silent, the purple sun merciless on his skin. Kai forces himself to his feet and turns to face the sun, running towards it in the direction of his brother's lands.

Prince Jongdae won't be able to save Kai's court, but Kai can at least warn him before his brother's court is attacked too.

Running across the planes without any loyalty bonds or Taemin's laughter in his ears is the loneliest experience of Kai's existence. All he can hear is his own breathing and the rhythm of his feet across the ground as he runs. His vision is blurred by his tears, and Kai catches himself longing for the companionship he's found in Prince Chanyeol while on the human plane.

His brother's court looms up into focus, the high walls of the fortress foreboding impenetrable. Prince Jongdae could not have survived the Old Demon Wars without the safe haven he'd been for himself and his court. After nearly a thousand years of war, the fortress is just as strong as it was when it was built.

"Stop," a sentry yells down at Kai. "Who are you?"

"Prince Kai," Kai replies, forcefully holding his voice steady. He doesn't have to say much more than that; his brother has made it clear to his court that Kai is always welcome to come here. The heavy iron-laid doors open and the portcullis lifts. Kai slips inside, heading directly for his brother's main courtroom.

Demons all around him jerk up. They neither bow or greet him the way they would their own prince, but they do not completely disregard him, dipping their heads respectively. It's both comforting and devastating to see mid-levels and low-levels who are alive and _not_ trying to kill him. His body aches with emptiness.

Kai walks into the main courtroom with his head low, his tail drooping behind him. His brother leaps to his feet the moment he sees him.

"Prince Kai," he greets. Kai looks up, showing his tear-streaked cheeks and the blood splattered across his shirt and neck.

"Prince Jongdae," he returns, voice hollow. His brother's eyes widen, tracing the sagging lines of Kai's shoulders.

"Everyone out," he orders, and no questions are asked. Jongdae's dukes and demons lounging around his throne room scatter immediately. "I will call you if I need you," he says pointedly. Kai glances over the corner of the room where Duke Jimin stands, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Jimin bows and leaves as well. The moment the door closes behind him, Jongdae rushes down from his throne.

Kai's frozen exterior breaks, and he falls to his knees, collapsing into his brother's arms.

"What happened?" Jongdae asks, a little frantic, brushing his breathing through Kai's hair. Kai shakes his head, burying his face against the other prince's shoulder for a short time. Jongdae lets him, warm hands pressed to Kai's back as he rocks back and forth as if Kai were still a just-formed demon. He twists his fingers in his brother's shirt and cries openly, his sobs echoing in the throne room. Jongdae hums gently, cradling Kai until he can calm himself. It takes awhile until the pain, both physical and emotional, is numbed enough for Kai to attempt to get his breathing back under control. He listens to Jongdae's breath and forces himself to copy it, wiping at his eyes until the tears have stopped.

"What happened?" Jongdae asks, a little frantic, brushing his breathing through Kai's hair. Kai shakes his head, burying his face against the other prince's shoulder for a short time. Jongdae lets him, warm hands pressed to Kai's back as he rocks back and forth as if Kai were still a just-formed demon. He twists his fingers in his brother's shirt and cries openly, his sobs echoing in the throne room. Jongdae hums gently, cradling Kai until he can calm himself. It takes awhile until the pain, both physical and emotional, is numbed enough for Kai to attempt to get his breathing back under control. He listens to Jongdae's breath and forces himself to copy it, wiping at his eyes until the tears have stopped.

"Kai," Prince Jongdae asks, voice gentle, the echo behind his words comforting. "What is going on?" Kai takes a deep, shuddering breath.

"My court is gone," Kai whispers. He links his hands together in an attempt to stop heir shaking. Jongdae's energy remains calm, but his tension is obvious in how still he's holding himself. "Slaughtered."

"How could that happen?" Jongdae prompts. "Why? _Who?_

"Queen Krystal ordered the attack," Kai recounts. "She sent hundreds of demons and that creature you have mentioned to me before. Yixing."

Jongdae's fangs show at the mention of the name. "And only you survived," he murmurs.

"My Duke," Kai whispers. "I can never repay him." His lips tremble again at the memory of Taemin, of his duke's bright smile and the pranks he used to play. Though he wants to break down and cry again, Kai forces himself to hold together and recount the events of the attack to his brother. Jongdae is silent as he listens, only tapping his fingers on Kai's knee to assure him he is listening. Kai exhales harshly as he finishes his story, pressing his hands over his eyes in an attempt to the staunch the flow of tears.

"Queen Krystal did this?" Jongdae glances at Kai for confirmation. He nods slowly. "Why would she attack another court that isn't threatening her?" Kai shakes his head. There's no reason for it; Yixing killed any demons that she could have added to her ranks.

A spark of a possible explanation has Kai sitting up, tumbling out of his brother's hold, his eyes wide. "What if I was the target?" he asks. "It won't kill Lord Minseok but it would weaken him."

His brother clucks his tongue. "Why would Krystal need to weaken him? He doesn't have anything she's interested in--" The demon prince cuts himself off, and he leaps to his feet. An air of urgency and comprehension has over him, and Kai doesn't bother to ask questions. His brother has never been forthcoming with answers.

"Jimin," the demon prince calls. Mere seconds pass before Jimin is throwing open the doors to the throne room and hurrying up to his prince.

"Yes, my prince?" he asks.

"Watch my court," Jongdae orders. "I have someone I must speak with. I'll be back before the silver sun rises. Open the gates to no one." Jimin bows.

"Yes, my prince," he says. Jongdae steps in close to him. "And one more thing, Duke." He presses something into Jimin's hand. "Take this to your Tamer. Tell him, 'in case of an emergency.'" Jimin nods, lips forming a positive response to the order. Jongdae's expression is darkly serious as he turns to leave his throne room.

"Prince Kai," Jongdae calls. "You're coming with me." Nevermind that they're the same rank, Kai hurries to obey his brother, walking out of the demon prince's court and nodding to the sentries to not open the gates anyone before they take off running across the planes of Hell.

"What are you thinking, Prince?" Kai asks when he can no longer see his brother's fortress behind them.

"Queen Jessica was killed by Prince Sehun in order to keep Baekhyun safe in his passage back to the Earth plane," Jongdae explains, voice low. "If I were to make a guess, Queen Krystal wants Baekhyun dead to make Prince Sehun suffer the same way she is."

"We're running towards Prince Sehun's court right now," Kai says. "If Queen Krystal is going to kill Baekhyun first--"

"She attacked you first," Jongdae cuts in. "The moment you returned to our plane, she attacked you. She must know Baekhyun is on the human plane. That means he's under the hell reject's protection."

Kai snorts. "Lord Minseok would rather Baekhyun over to Krystal to be killed than protect him."

"Does she know that?" Jongdae asks, and Kai shuts his mouth. Queen Krystal has absolutely zero way of knowing how Baekhyun is being treated at Gatewatchers right now. She only knows that in the past, Baekhyun was a carefully coveted halfling. "If Krystal kills all of Lord Minseok's demons, at some point, he'll be killed as well. As far as she knows, Baekhyun will no longer be protected. And she can go up to the Earth plane and kill him whenever she likes."

"I won't let that happen," Kai swears. Jongdae nods at him.

"Once Baekhyun is dead," Jongdae continues. "Sehun is next. Him being alive is cause enough for the war they're currently engaged in. He betrayed his queens."

"The punishment for that is death," Kai murmurs. Just ahead, he can start to make out the spires of Sehun's castle and the thick battlements. The trademark moat reflect the purple sun off of its red waters.

"This might be a reach," Jongdae continues as they slow, moving to instead walk up to Prince Sehun's court. "But the Court of Two Queens have created thousands of demons, but only one prince and one king." They step carefully around a stain of white ash on the ground. "If Sehun is dead, would Krystal want to reclaim King Lu Han? That would ensure her power here."

Kai nods absently at his brother's worth. He's too drawn to the coat of ash on the ground and the blackened wood of a funeral pyre. 

"Kai?" Jongdae calls.

"I have to stand vigil for my court," he says. "Light a fire for them." Jongdae's arms are warm around him. 

"You will," he says, words pressed to Kai's shoulder. "I'll stand with you, but not until this war is over." Kai blinks back emotion.

"Anything else?" he asks. "About Queen Krystal?" He allows his brother to pull him away from the ash and towards the lowered portcullis of Prince Sehun's court. 

"Listen to me very carefully," Jongdae says, stepping in front of Kai and staring hard into his face. His voice is low, and his rip on Kai's arm is tight. "Hell has been at war for too long. I'll take my share of blame for that. But we need a King."

He grip tightens marginally on Kai's arm. "Lu Han cannot be that King. You didn't know him, but he was a good king before he met Minseok. His mind began to deteriorate when he started staying on the Earth plane for an extended period of time. He snapped when Minseok came here and _fled _to the Earth plane." He swallows. "He's been there for centuries, Kai. What state of mind do you think he's in now?"__

__Kai shakes his head. He doesn't know; he's not even sure what his brother is trying to tell him. "I don't--" He bites his lip. "Even if he's crazy, you could kill him. You're the most powerful demon prince."_ _

__"Kai," Jongdae says with a sharp shake of his head. "I could kill the Demon King with help, but there is only demon who could possibly take on Lu Han's power and restore our peace. That demon is _not_ me. That demon is very much in danger of a murderous hell queen with a bloodthirsty lackey right now." Jongdae turns to look at Prince Sehun's court, and Kai understands._ _

__"Prince Sehun," he breathes. There's no way. "The next Demon King."_ _

__Jongdae nods. "That's only if we can keep him alive." His jaw is set, his eyebrows still furrowed._ _

__“You’ve been around longer,” Kai argues. “Why can’t it be you?”_ _

__Jongdae laughs humorlessly. “I’m most known for leading hundreds of years of war. I can’t be trusted to be a king of peace. Prince Chanyeol’s court would never allow bow under me, and then we’ll just be in war again.” For a moment, Kai’s brothers grin is ferocious and fang-filled. Kai understands; there is something absolutely thrilling about fighting for power. Kai catches himself mirroring the expression as they walk the final few meters to the entrance of Prince Sehun's court._ _

__"Who's there?" yells down from the sentry station._ _

__"Prince Jongdae and Prince Kai," Jongdae calls out, showing his empty hands and turning up his face. "We seek an audience with your prince."_ _

__Another voice, one they both recognize, responds to Jongdae's request. "And why would I want two demon princes in my court?" Sehun calls. Through the grate of the portcullis, Kai can see him standing with his tail lashing out behind him, his silver hair appearing almost purple in the sunlight. At his side, his duchesses all show their teeth, fangs stark against painted lips._ _

__"You probably don't," Jongdae says, keeping his voice light. "But for your Tamer and your brother, I think you'll make an exception." Sehun's eyes flash._ _

__"Let them in," he orders. "Bring them to my courtroom." The portcullis shrieks as it opens, and Kai steps after his brother into the court of the demon who could be the end of this war with the Court of Two Queens and with the human plane._ _

____

***

Baekhyun jolts awake with his heart hammering in his chest.

"Sehun," he gasps out, pressing a hand to his neck and feeling the speed of his pulse. His hands are shaking with the force of the shock of the sudden emotion racing through him. It's all muddled, powerful but not distinguishable. These are not Baekhyun's emotions.

"Sehun," he tries again, voice still breathless. He doesn't hear a reply, and his own worry layers on top of the flood of Sehun's emotions in his system. He reaches inside himself, drawing up the blood exchange until Sehun's markings on his arm are flashing.

"Sehun!" Baekhyun calls out quietly, and the emotions stop. The contact cuts out, and Baekhyun is suddenly left gsping at the sudden emptiness. What is going on? He reaches out for the blood exchange again, and Sehun's reach meets his, but instead of connecting, Sehun pushes him away. Baekhyun fumbles, trying to grab for Sehun again.

His heart pounds, but it's not the residual effect of Sehun's emotions. It's his own aching loneliness. He'd forgotten to factor in how difficult it is to be alone on the Earth plane, and nights are the worst. After knowing how it feels to sleep with his demon at his side, being completely alone as the moon floats overhead, reminding him of the silver sun, is hopelessly restless every time.

"Sehun," Baekhyun whispers. "Are you okay?" He draws his knees up to his chest, reminds himself to breathe. It's getting easier to ignore his craving for the miasma of Hell the longer he's here, each breath no longer scraping over the back of his throat.

"Sehun?"

Baekhyun refuses to call again; he could demand Sehun come up to the Earth plane, but his demon hasn't yet said that his court is ready. Of course, when the initial flood of emotion had awoken Baekhyun, he didn't expect to be cut off from why. If Sehun's court is under attack, then Baekhyun has too--

He has to go back. He wonders if Sehun would bother to call for him.

Baekhyun stares at the hands on his clock. It's too early to be up, but with such a huge shock to his system earlier, he is not going to find sleep again. He watches the minute hand track its way around between the two and the four before he falls back against his pillows.

"Is everything okay?" he asks his pillows because his demon isn't about to answer. His back burns a little bit, and Baekhyun holds his hand in front of himself to sleepily trace the lines of his markings with his opposite hand. He tries to set aside worry for his demon, but it's difficult when all he can think about is abandoning Sehun when his court suffered its biggest loss. He forces his focus to the feathery touch of his fingers over his inked skin, and hums to himself to hide the silence of the blood exchange.

Just as he's starting to drift off again, a surge in the blood exchange flares through him, the glow of his markings bright against him nearly closed eyes. Baekhyun sits up, reaching out immediately for the connection. The blood exchange roars to life, singing along with Baekhyuns relief and Sehun's apologies.

"Sehun," Baekhyun says. "Are you alright?" Sehun's response comes in the form of the warmth of hellfire curling around Baekhyun, pulling him down into his incorporeal embrace. A general sense of security fills Baekhyun's veins, and Sehun's voice whispering that he's alright wraps itself around Baekhyun's bare torso.

"What happened?" Baekhyun asks, but Sehun's breath ghosts over his neck, the rhythm of his breathing calming. It matches the pulse of Baekhyun's markings.

 _A lot,_ Sehun's answers stick in Baekhyun's head. He's pleased to hear his demon's voice. _Queen Krystal might be coming for my brother. Baekhyun._ The urgency in his tone is sour on Baekhyun's tongue. _Our war is coming to the human plane._

Baekhyun twists in his sheets, seeking for more of the warmth that the blood exchange brings as his body runs cold with the news. "I'll go to Lord Tamer again," he promises.

 _He wants you dead,_ Sehun growls. His anger vibrates in Baekhyun's chest.

"I won't visit him alone," Baekhyun says. It's the only solace he can offer. Sehun's phantom hold on him tightens.

"When can I call you to me again?" Baekhyun asks. The blood exchange flares, Sehun's end of the bond reaching out fully to tangle with Baekhyun's. The connection is heady, and rings of a clear answer: _Anytime you need me, Tamer._ Baekhyun grins, and his fangs prick against his bottom lip as he sinks back into rest.

Through the haze of the blood exchange and sleep, a knock on Baekhyun's door reaches him only an hour later. He gets to his feet, brain fuzzy and eyes bleary.

"Baekhyunnie," Taehyung's voice calls. "Get up."

Baekhyun groans, blinking into the darkness of his room before he turns makes his way to the door, flipping on the lights as he goes.

"Hi, good morning, hello," Taehyung greets, breezing by him when Baekhyun opens the door. "I almost thought you wouldn't be here, but I'm glad you are."

Baekhyun squints. "Where else would I be?" he asks, shoving his hands in the pockets of his sweats. Taehyung eyes his bare chest.

"With your demon," he says with a shrug. "Or maybe he would be here, and you would pretend to not be here, get what I'm saying?" He wiggles his eyebrows, and Baekhyun only barely resists the urge to draw his claws across his smirking face. Taehyung giggles.

"Why are you here?" Baekhyun asks. Taehyung claps his hands together, bouncing on the balls of his feet. His excitement is palpable, tasting sweet in the air.

"I've been dying the past two days!" Taehyung whines. "First you're talking with demon princes, and then you're having secret conversations with Lord Tamer's son, which, by the way, you're lucky only Jimin and I saw you two disappear into his room for hours."

"It was not hours--"

"Because someone else would have reported that to Lord Tamer, and you would probably be dead," Taehyung explains, far too cheerful for the severity of the topic. "The First Tamer is looking for any excuse to kill you, you know."

"I know," Baekhyun says. "But he's going to have to answer to a few questions before any of his demons get close enough to me for that."

Taehyung grins full force. "And that's why i'm here," he says. "Because I want to know what you were talking about with those people."

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, sighing. "Taehyung, it's sensitive--"

"Aww, c'mon," Taehyung whines. "I'll be right beside you anyway. Might as well tell me now." He pouts, and Baekhyun, no longer holding back all of his emotions just to keep his demon side in place, breaks.

"The Demon King is one the moon," he starts.

Taehyung huffs. "I already know that."

Baekhyun glares at him, watching with satisfaction as Taehyung presses both of his hands over his mouth. "Because," he continues. "He's got some sort of loyalty bond with Lord Tamer."

Taehyung freezes, his eyes wide. Baekhyun nods. "And Lord Tamer seems to have known that he's here." Baekhyun runs his hands through his hair in frustration. "He tamed so many princes just to protect himself from the Demon King."

"Why?" Taehyung cuts in, eyebrows furrowed. "If the Demon King is loyal to Lord Tamer, why would Lord Tamer need to protect himself from him?"

Baekhyun shakes his head. "I don't know."

"And why hasn't Lord Tamer told anyone this?" Taehyung presses. "I mean, now we know where he is, we should be doing everything we can to end this war between both planes."

Baekhyun clenches his fists, frowning. "I don't know," he repeats. "I asked him that very question, and he threatened to kill me." Taehyung swears, pressing his hand to his arm. His markings are flashing just slightly, Baekhyun notices.

"That's not right," Taehyung hisses. "We're an organization meant to _protect,_ not prolong."

"There's only one thing I can do," Baekhyun murmurs. "I promised I would." He brushes past Taehyung, heading for his closet and scooping his Tamer's coat off the floor on the way.

"You shouldn't," Taehyung says, voice a bit muffled through the closet doors. "He'll kill you."

"Not if I have enough people with me," Baekhyun argues. "Can you go find Kyungsoo for me?"

He hears Taehyung tapping his foot. "Yeah," he says. "I can."

"Meet me in ten minutes," Baekhyun orders, and he hears the click of the door jam as Taehyung leaves. With Taehyung and Kyungsoo beside him, hopefully the Lord Tamer won't kill him the instant he sees him, and hopefully he won't make up any excuses without proof to terminate Baekhyun.

Baekhyun just has to keep his demon side out of sight and out of mind. He holds up the jacket, turning the sleeves right-side-out, and slips it on. The Tamer's crest is still lying on his floor somewhere. Baekhyun has no desire to retrieve it.

Knowing his 'boss' wants him dead and isn't trying to find a way to end the battle with the demons doesn't exactly make Baekhyun want to wear his symbol. Besides, all signs are pointing towards this being the Lord Tamer's fault. 

Baekhyun breathes evenly, forcing his fangs to retract and his claws to shrink away. He laces up his boots, and takes one last glance out the window at the blue sky. He can't say he missed it. A sliver of the moon is visible. Baekhyun turns and leaves his room, heading directly for the Lord Tamer's office.

Taehyung is there when Baekhyun arrives, wearing an apologetic expressions.

"I couldn't find Kyungsoo," he says. "According to the front office, there was a recently completed taming that needs immediate attention."

Baekhyun drops his head back. "That's gonna make this difficult," he tells the ceiling. Unfortunately, Kyungsoo can't disregard official business for a halfling.

"Don't be rash," Taehyung warns.

Baekhyun looks at him. "This is about a war."

"I know," Taehyung concedes. "I'm not trying to stop you. It won't work anyway."

"No," Baekhyun confirms.

"You can't show any of your demon half," Taehyung says. "Lord Tamer isn't going to be merciful. Please just." Taehyung stops and takes a breath. "Just--"

"I'll be careful," Baekhyun promises. Taehyung grins then; it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

"Let's do this," he says with a gesture towards the First Tamer's office doors. Baekhyun pats him on the shoulder and strides forward, throwing open the office doors.

"Lord Tamer," he says loudly upon entry. All discussion in the room pauses, and Baekhyun stops in the middle of the floor with Taehyung at his side. Lord Tamer stands up on the dais, the Second Tamer stationed just a few steps below him. Joonmyun's eyes are wide, his frown deep on his face. He shakes his head just once as a type of warning, but Baekhyun disregards that. He's already here.

"Baekhyun," Lord Tamer says, turning to face him. "And Taehyung. I don't remember asking for either of you."

"You didn't, Lord Tamer," Baekhyun says. He dips his head. "Urgent matters."

"Baekhyun," Joonmyun says, moving down a step. "This can wait, can't it?" He's pleading, but Baekhyun isn't listening. He's already here.

"Night Hunt comes every two weeks," he states. "We don't have time to wait."

"We also don't have time for insubordination," the Lord Tamer fires back.

Baekhyun grits his teeth, and his hands shake with the effort to keep his fangs and claws hidden. "What are you scared of?" he demands. "What are you hiding?"

"Baekhyun," Joonmyun breathes. The lines on his faced deepen with worry.

"I am afraid of nothing," the First Tamer says. Baekhyun can't see his face behind him mask, but the Lord Tamer's fraying patience is obvious. Baekhyun presses further.

"Is that why you Tamed a group of princes? Is that why you won't take off your mask ever?" Baekhyun questions. "To prove that you're unafraid?"

"That's not the reason," the Lord Tamer counters. "Don't ask about things you don't understand, _halfling._ "

"I understand more than you want me to," Baekhyun threatens. "I know about you and the Demon King." The Lord Tamer stills, veins showing in his neck. Joonmyun's eyes are wide in shock. So he hadn't known about this either. Baekhyun can't stop his lips from curling back, showing his teeth.

"Easy," Taehyung murmurs at Baekhyun's side, settling a hand on Baekhyun's shoulder. Baekhyun shrugs him away.

"Then you'll know that it's in this organization's best interest to find him," the Lord Tamer says. His words are vague, a cover and a warning that Baekhyun does not heed. "If he were tamed, Night Hunt would never affect our plane as much as it does now."

Baekhyun bites on his tongue, willing his fangs to keep from dropping. "If he were gone from this plane, the war would be over," he counters. "He needs to go back to his own plane."

"There is no need to kill a valuable demon," the Lord Tamer argues. "He hasn't hurt us during Night Hunt." Baekhyun grits his teeth. He hadn't suggested killing the Demon King.

"We have a way to end this war," Baekhyun tries again. "And you know this. You're doing nothing to stop it."

"Baekhyun," Joonmyun tries to warn again. Baekhyun brushes him off.

"You're more interested in your reputation as a powerful Tamer than in ending this fight between the two planes," Baekhyun accuses. "Are you scared of losing your demons' power?" The Lord Tamer actually growls lowly in response to that, his temper lost. If Baekhyun keeps pressing like this, he'll crack. He hopes so, anyway.

"Are you still in love with him?" Baekhyun asks, nearly accusing. "You'd rather lessen the killing than stop is all together? So you can get glory as the Tamer of the Demon King? Both worlds are suffering from this, and you're doing nothing."

The Lord Tamer snarls under his mask. "Watch your tongue, halfling."

Baekhyun tries to keep it contained, to not let his instincts take over, but the Lord Tamer's refusal to see reason sends frustration racing through him. He bares his teeth.

"People's lives are at risk!" he shouts. "Aren't we made to protect them?"

"Are you going to continue questioning me?" The Lord Tamer says, his voice quiet with barely suppressed rage.

"Are you going to answer me?" Baekhyun returns. "There's a war going on in Hell right now that won't stay contained to that plane much longer. You're sentencing all of us to die."

"Insubordination," the Lord Tamer says instead. "That's a strike against you." The force of his words hits Baekhyun and shatters any calm he'd managed to keep. His fangs drop, and his claws curl black over his fingers.  
"Answer me!" he demands.

"Baekhyun!" Taehyung hisses, grabbing for him.

"And apparent inability to control yourself," the Lord Tamer says. "Grounds for termination."

"Because I want to know why we're not actually trying to end this war?" Baekhyun screams. Joonmyun jumps up, stepping in front of the Lord Tamer.

"Minseok," he starts. "Minseok, he hasn't seen his demon in a few days. His blood exchange must be acting up. You can't punish him too severely."

"He's a half-demon," the Lord Tamer says. "That's been grounds for his termination ever since he was brought here."

Joonmyun holds up his hands. "And he proved himself a Tamer," he says, voice frantic. "A _good_ Tamer. There's only one prince left out of Gatewatchers control. If you kill him, there will be two again."

"There's been two for years, Joonmyun," the Lord Tamer says. "I think we'll manage."

"He was just in Hell," Joonmyun tries again. The desperation in his voice is echoed in the lines of his body. This is his last ditch effort. "You know how destructive the Hell plane is on the human psyche. He's in shock."

The Lord Tamer reaches out, gripping the Second Tamer's shoulder tightly. "Look at him," he orders. "That's no human. That's a demon in human skin. That is a _threat._ " Baekhyun's fangs drop a little lower at being reduced to 'that' instead of a person.

"Minseok, please," Joonmyun pleads. It's a pointless endeavor. Before Baekhyun had shown his demon heritage, he was protected from the Lord Tamer's need to see him dead by Taehyung and Joonmyun's presence in the First Tamer's office with him. But now that's shown his demon side, there's nothing to protect him. He's been held under this threat for twenty-one years. That wasn't about to change just because he managed to tame a demon.

Baekhyun nearly misses the flash of steel as Minseok draws out his blade and shoves back his sleeves, pressing the knife to his forearms in two quick successive strokes. His blood drops to the ground.

"Prince Chanyeol," he calls. "Prince Kai." Baekhyun wants to grin harder. Kai won't hurt him most likely, and hopefully Chanyeol won't either. They wouldn't have spared all that time explaining pieces of Hell's history to him if they wanted to kill him, right? " _Come._ "

Two gates swirl into existence, hellfire flying up from within their depths. Prince Kai steps through with his head already bowed. Chanyeol follows in his own gate with his gaze fixed on Joonmyun. Baekhyun almost misses the way Chanyeol's eyes flutter at the expression of horror on Joonmyun's face. 

"My Tamer," Prince Kai says. 

"Lord Minseok," Chanyeol murmurs. "Why have you called us?" 

"Tamer Baekhyun," the Lord Tamer explains. "I have decided to terminate him."

"What?" Kai demands.

"Termination," the Lord Tamer repeats. He points in Baekhyun's direction, and Baekhyun stares up at him. He hopes the First Tamer can see his defiance through his mask.

"Lord Minseok," Chanyeol tries.

The Lord Tamer holds out a hand to quiet him. "Prince Kai," he orders. "Kill him." Kai jerks in his place, but he doesn't make any move towards Baekhyun. Baekhyun shakes with a little fear and a lot of anger as he listen to the Lord Tamer make the demand again. Still, Kai doesn't move.

"I'm not going to kill him, Lord Minseok," Kai says. He's looking right at Baekhyun. "You know I'm not going to." The Lord Tamer stares at the demon prince, and Baekhyun watches with wide eyes as Kai nods to him before turning to meet his Tamer's eyes. "No."

"Chanyeol," the Lord Tamer calls instead. "Terminate the halfling." Baekhyun swallows hard as Chanyeol steps forward, but instead of walking down the stairs of the dais, he crosses in front of the First Tamer and settles at Kai's side, throwing his arm over Kai's shoulders.

"I won't kill him, Lord Minseok." Chanyeol gestures towards the Joonmyun, and the Second Tamer stiffens. "My Tamer wouldn't like it if I did." Joonmyun's mouth drops in shock, and Baekhyun stares at the two demon princes. Taehyung grabs onto Baekhyun's arm, his hand trembling.

"Fine," Lord Tamer says, his voice hard and enraged.

"Princeling," Taehyung murmurs. Baekhyun glances back at him. Taehyung's bottom lip is bitten red, and he's got his fist pressed to his chest.

"He has more, Taehyung," Baekhyun murmurs.

The knife in the Lord Tamer's hand whirls again, and he holds his hand out, a few drops of blood slipping down the crevices of his palm to the floor.

"Demon Prince Kris," the Lord Tamer commands. " _Come._ The gate screams into existence at the base of the dais.

"Shit," Baekhyun hears Taehyung breathe. The Tamer steps in front of Baekhyun and throws his arm out. Blood splashes across the ground.

"Taehyung," Baekhyun gasps, grabbing his friend and pulling him back. His claws slide out, about to go for his own wrist to call his demon because Jimin might be powerful, but he can't beat a demon prince. In his peripheral vision, Baekhyun sees Taehyung's hand is outstretched, a hell gate beginning to spin in front of them. "Don't--!"

Prince Kris snarls through his grin and leaps.

" _Come!_ " Taehyung screams.

The gate roars, and hellfire explodes out from it. The force knocks Baekhyun and Taehyung back. They grab for each other for balance, breathing hard. The flames lick over Baekhyun's skin, and he twists to protect Taehyung from the heat. Baekhyun's heart pounds in his chest, and his lungs are aching with the relief of the burst of miasma.

"What did you do?" he hisses, but Taehyung just shakes his head. He didn't call Jimin; that much is obvious. The explosion from the gate wouldn't have been near anything of that magnitude.

Kris barrels into the flames, and a figure rises within them. The two shadows clash, the new demon's hand wraps around Kris' wrist. He steps under Kris fist and drives his elbow up. Kris' head snaps back, and the other demon's snarl accompanies Kris' groan. Kris lashes out with his claws, and the demon leaps back. The flames roar again, and Kris dives forward. The new demon rolls under it, and for a second, Baekhyun loses sight of him in the flames.

Kris screams in rage. The new demon flies up, and his arms wrap around Kris’ neck, his shoulder digging into the taller demon's windpipe. The other demon's momentum throws him over Kris's shoulder. He drags Kris with him, and Kris yelps before he's hauled into the air. The demon throws him hard on the ground. Kris hits the floor with a loud crack, and he slides back across the linoleum. His back slams into the dais, and his head snaps back. He lays still, unconscious.

"Oh no," cackles through the flames. Confusion tangles in Baekhyun's body, and he glances over to Taehyung. His friend's eyes are wide with shock. Prince Jongdae steps out from the thick of the flames. "Oh no, no, no, Lord Minseok," he says. Hellfire catches on the hem of the demon prince's shirt and tears it from his body. Markings like lightning flash down the length of his arm, and his fangs glint in the hellfire light.

"You're not killing my son."


	4. Chapter 4

Baekhyun stares. His heart skips a beat. He can't feel his arm from how hard Taehyung is gripping it, and he can't hear anything over the roar of blood in his ears as Prince Jongdae's words echo through his mind over and over again until his skin pulses with the tune of it.

"I knew it," Taehyung whispers. Baekhyun can't breathe. He's the son of a prince. He's the _son_ of a _prince._

"Prince Jongdae," the Lord Tamer says. His hands are poised to call another demon.

"Hello, Minseok," Jongdae returns. "Nice to see you're still alive." His tone suggests it isn't very nice at all, and Baekhyun's mind is spinning. Of course, the Lord Tamer had known who Baekhyun's father is; of course, he'd seen him before. The Lord Tamer obviously knows who Baekhyun's mother is too seeing as she worked for him. He wonders how many people around him have known his heritage this whole time. He glances up at Joonmyun, watches the way his whole body sags in relief at Jongdae's appearance.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Jongdae asks, his grins showing his fangs. The hellfire from the gate is calming, but Jongdae still seems to burn with intensity in the First Tamer's office, his markings flashing. Baekhyun recognizes the the lightning bolts on his arm; they're the same ones that streak through the wing on his shoulder.

"Twenty years," the Lord Tamer says.

"You wouldn't have minded a thousand more, right?" Jongdae settles his hands on his hips. "Still mad I stole your best Tamer away?" The First Tamer doesn't answer the question, instead waves a hand at Kai.

"Kill him," he orders the youngest of the present demon princes. Jongdae barks out a laugh.

"My brother is not going to kill me," he says with a condescending wag of his finger. "He's under my orders to keep Baekhyun alive. Do you really think he'll kill me?"

"Chanyeol," the Lord Tamer starts. The demon crouches, prepared to jump, but Prince Kai’s hands slide around Chanyeol’s waist, holding him still.

Jongdae waves the Lord Tamer off again. "I think you'll have better luck trying to kill me yourself, Lord Minseok." Jongdae follows his words with another laugh, sauntering towards the dais, stopping with an unimpressed look at Prince Kris' unconscious form. He presses a foot to Kris' shoulder and nudges his body until he rolls over.

"Your princes can't stand up to me," Jongdae sneers. It's a cocky statement, but it's true. Baekhyun has seen Jongdae press Sehun flat on his back to the floor with a hand around his neck, and Sehun is more powerful than Kai or Chanyeol. Prince Jongdae gestures at Kris. "Send this one back, won't you? This air here isn't helping him at all."

The Lord Tamer is still, ignoring Jongdae’s request. Jongdae regards him with his fangs bared for a moment.

"Joonmyun," he calls out. "Send this Prince back." Joonmyun steps across the dais.

"Of course," he says. He shoots the Lord Tamer a questioning look, and when the First Tamer nods his permission, he kneels down with his knife in hand, slashing it across Kris' upper arm and murmuring the words to send the prince home. The gate blooms under the demon's body, and he sinks into it, the light from the gate fading as the marks connecting Prince Kris and First Tamer dim on the Lord Tamer’s arm. The Second Tamer stands and returns to his place at the foot of the dais, bowing to the Lord Tamer. Chanyeol shifts, watching the First Tamer in case he moves towards Joonmyun. Baekhyun watches his careful observation of both the First and Second Tamer. The loyalty of demons is not to be underestimated.

"Did she send you here?" the Lord Tamer asks Prince Jongdae. The prince shakes his head.

"No," he says. "Though we were interrupted by this spectacle here. Kids have the best timing, don't you think?" He jerks his head back towards Baekhyun and Taehyung. "My duke's Tamer is the one who called me." He smiles again. "It really worked out perfectly that Jimin was tamed by my son's friend. It has really made keeping an eye on him easier."

"You really didn't know?" Baekhyun whispers, turning to Taehyung.

"Well, I had my guesses," he murmurs back under his breath. "But I wasn't certain. Jimin wouldn't tell me." He pouts, and the familiarity of the expression even amidst the tension of the room balances Baekhyun.

“And you gave the boy your blood so that you could interfere with Gatewatchers,” the Lord Tamer snarls.

“So that I could protect my son,” Jongdae corrects. “Yes.”

"Are you planning to use anyone else in my organization against me?" the Lord Tamer demands.

Jongdae's eyes widen. "Use?" he repeats. “I have never done that.” He shakes his head.

"How is she?" the Lord Tamer asks, and Baekhyun straightens at the subject change. She. His mother?

"Can't use her name anymore?" Jongdae teases. The tip of his tail is flicking in agitation. "She's wonderful. Mad at you, however. Trying to kill a woman's son isn't the best way to get on her good side. Just a tip."

Joonmyun coughs, mouth hidden behind a fist, but his eyes are too bright to truly conceal his laugh. Jongdae winks at the Second Tamer with dangerous eyes. "Anyway, Minseok, you can't have her back. She is mine." He adjusts his body to be directly in Baekhyun's line of sight to the Lord Tamer. "As for my son..." The demon prince trails out, arms crossed. His shoulders are squared, and his power cracks through the air. Just off to the side, Chanyeol and Kai are struggling to keep their heads up, the strain apparent in the tension holding them stiff. It's one thing to know of a demon's power, but to watch the effect it has on a pair of demons who have tested Baekhyun's human’s sides control for all of his life whilst Baekhyun himself is not affected by Jongdae’s power is satisfying. It feels a bit like payback as Jongdae's influence resounds in the room, heat snapping through the space between the occupants. It makes Baekhyun feel powerful too. A thrill, a sense of belonging, of having, runs through Baekhyun. His fangs click against his bottom teeth.

"What do you want, Prince Jongdae?" Minseok asks. His question is like a switch in Jongdae's pleasant demeanor. His voice echoes, shoulders bent forward like he's prepared to leap, his tail lashing behind him.

"I want Baekhyun safe," Jongdae demands. "I want this war over. I want this connection with your world cut so that my court isn't suffering."

The Lord Tamer laughs this time, but the sound is not pleasant at all. It sounds dry and empty in comparison to the ring of Prince Jongdae's voice. "Demons want human souls," the Lord Tamer says. "Isn't that what Night Hunt is for?"

Jongdae growls, the sound low in his throat, and even Taehyung beside Baekhyun seems to shiver with the power of it. "Night Hunt is because you had to disrupt the balance between our planes," he hisses. The markings on his arm flash. "Night Hunt is not in the original construction of our worlds." He points back at Taehyung.

"That Tamer," Jongdae begins. "Lost the entirety of his family because Night Hunt exists. Because your Tamers decided ones who worship demons are not fit to stand on this earth when they are the only reason you had any sort of idea how to create the blood exchange."

"And now Night Hunt is the way our worlds work," the Lord Tamer argues.

Jongdae's claws are wicked, hooked points as he stares up at the First Tamer. "The two planes are suffering," Jongdae spits. "Hell is suffering. The Earth plane is suffering." He snarls, his voice dropping low in his rage. "King Lu Han is suffering."

"Lu Han is unreachable," the Lord Tamer says. Baekhyun swallows to hold back his anger. The Lord Tamer knows where the Demon King is; Baekhyun was there to witness his pleased reaction to Lu Han’s whereabouts. “Gone.”

"King Lu Han is not gone," Jongdae returns. "My King is trapped on your world because he fell in love with you and you betrayed his trust! My King wanted you to be his, and you let his mind rot on this forsaken plane because you wanted his power instead of him!" Jongdae is panting hard, his tail lashing, dragging across the floor. Baekhyun's eyes are wide; Taehyung's eyes are wide. Across the office from them, Joonmyun, Chanyeol, and Kai are frozen in shock. Kyungsoo's speculations were enough to give Baekhyun a hint towards what had happened and why the fabric between the worlds had torn, but even his ruminations hadn’t prepared him for the truth laid out plainly by a demon prince.

He still hadn't considered that perhaps the evil Gatewatchers should be fighting is the man who created the organization in the first place.

The Lord Tamer's voice is quiet, stilted, when he responds. "What lies," he whispers. "Lies and untruths meant to unsettle. Baseless slander--"

"Take off your mask, Minseok," Jongdae orders. His words cut clear through the Lord Tamer's shaky denial. The First Tamer steps back.

"You're not in your court, Prince Jongdae," he says. "You don't make demands here."

“I’m asking you to tell the truth for the first time in centuries,” Jongdae argues. “Or do you not even know truth anymore?”

“Speaking the truth does not require me to take off this mask,” the Lord Tamer returns.

“Then tell us what it is you’re hiding,” Jongdae presses. “Lies of omission are still lies.” The Lord Tamer makes no move to acquiesce, and he says nothing. Jongdae growls low in his throat.

"Kai," the demon prince calls out. "Would you remove this hell reject's mask?" The younger demon prince is met with a sharp look from behind the Lord Tamer's mask, and he backs down, his markings flashing.

"I'm sorry, Prince," Kai murmurs. Jongdae flashes him a smile that's one part reassuring and one part angry. He's never been tamed, Baekhyun reminds himself. He doesn't know the power a blood exchange can hold over a demon. Chanyeol's markings flash as well, signalling him unable to do as Jongdae wishes even if he wanted to.

Baekhyun bites his lip. Prince Jongdae waits just a moment, glancing between the two demon princes and their tamer before he lifts his head, shoulders squared.

"Baekhyun," he calls out. The Lord Tamer steps back again. "Follow my lead." Baekhyun hears Taehyung's gasp as Jongdae launches himself forward, claws outstretched for the Lord Tamer's face. The Lord Tamer drops, driving up under the attack with his knife in his fist. Jongdae is fast, nearly a blur as he moves, but the First Tamer hasn't held his title for hundreds of years by simply standing around waiting for demon princes to offer themselves to him. He attacks the demon prince with just as much vigour as Jongdae gives.

"Go!" Taehyung urges, pushing at Baekhyun's back. Baekhyun glances back at him.

"I can't attack Lord Tamer," he hisses, watching as Jongdae narrowly avoids the First Tamer's knife in his neck. The blade scrapes across his cheekbone instead, a thin, red line opening on his cheek. Prince Jongdae smirks and dives back in.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Taehyung shouts. He shoves Baekhyun forward. "He wants you dead! You can attack him!" It's sound logic, and the press of Taehyung's hands against Baekhyun's tattoos have him barrelling forward, his claws out and fangs fully extended. Neither Kai nor Chanyeol make a move to stop him as he slides in cleanly under Jongdae's swipe at the Lord Tamer's chest to land on the top platform of the dais. His boots slide across the linoleum, and he twists, digging his claws into the ground to steady himself.

He counts in his head, carefully timing the fight. One. Jongdae leans back, the Lord Tamer's roundhouse just barely clearing his head. Two. Jongdae surges forward, grabbing the First Tamer's shoulder, claws sinking into his Tamer's jacket. The Lord Tamer rips himself away, throwing up an arm to block Jongdae's next swipe at his face. Jongdae turns their wrists over, pressing the Lord Tamer's arms down. The Lord Tamer's knife clatters across the ground.

Three. Baekhyun leaps, diving between the demon prince and the Tamer with a hand outstretched toward the Lord Tamer. The First Tamer's enraged scream bounces off the walls of the office, and Baekhyun hits the ground, tucking his head and rolling over his shoulder to push himself back into a standing position.

The Lord Tamer's mask dangles, shredded, from his claws.

Jongdae cackles, dancing back off of the dais to stand at Baekhyun's side. He's warm beside Baekhyun, support that Baekhyun hadn't realized he'd needed. It felt weird to enter a fight without Sehun at his side, but it was infinitely satisfying to take a win from the Lord Tamer himself.

"Half-demons are too dangerous to keep around?" Jongdae snarls. The Lord Tamer rights himself, his hood falling back from his head. Baekhyun's stomach twists.

All of his ideas of Lord Tamer's scarred face, of his eyes glowing with the flames of hell-- none of those are at all close to the truth that the Lord Tamer has hidden behind a mask for nearly thirty years. Pointed ears, tiny fangs, and eyes with an orange glow hold Baekhyun captive. The Lord Tamer is warped by the amount of high-level demons he has tamed. Joonmyun's voice rings in Baekhyun's ears, reminding him that the Lord Tamer is immortal, protecting him from the destruction of demon blood in his system. It seems the way the Lord Tamer's body decided to protect itself was to merge with the demon blood.

Baekhyun stares, feeling hate twist in his chest. He'd been hated, threatened, and distrusted for years because of his half-demon status by the very man who is more or less making himself into what Baekhyun is.

"Isn't that what you're trying to become, Minseok?" Jongdae sneers. "A demon?" His hand rests on the back of Baekhyun's neck, steadying him as he sways, staring at the man he had always been taught hates demons the most. Jongdae's accusations of the First Tamer wanting the Demon King's power suddenly make sense. Even Baekhyun does not look nearly as demonic as the Lord Tamer. His eyes don't glow, and his ears are not pointed.

If the Lord Tamer were to tame the Demon King, Baekhyun thinks he might cross from more human to more demon.

The Lord Tamer bares his teeth. "You will never understand the rush," he says, eyes focused solely on Prince Jongdae. "The power that comes with taming a demon. The way Hell's miasma feels."

"You're addicted to power, Minseok," Joonmyun's voice, sad and small, a little angered, comes into the conversation. "You're hurting two planes and two races for it." The Lord Tamer turns to face the Second Tamer with his teeth showing, but Joonmyun does not flinch or back down.

"We need Night Hunt to end,” Joonmyun stresses. “How long before young kids stop wanting to become Tamers? How long until we start losing?”

“We won’t lose,” the Lord Tamer asserts.

Jongdae cackles, holding up his hands. He slowly counts off the remaining days until Night Hunt. “You have less than two weeks before you’ll regret those words, Hell reject,” he warns. “Queen Krystal wants her revenge.” His hand is warm on the back of Baekhyun’s neck again.

“Queen Krystal has no reason to take revenge on Gatewatchers,” the Lord Tamer scoffs. Baekhyun watches the way Prince Kai’s expression goes from disinterested to crumpled, the way he falls against Chanyeol.

“This war is bigger than you and your Tamers, Minseok,” Jongdae spits. “Sehun’s court is at the forefront. Even Hell is stepping in to solve this.” He shakes his head, laughing. “You want to be one of us so badly, and yet you’re still not with the program. Still just a Hell reject.” He turns, pulling Baekhyun with him. Baekhyun nearly stumbles, but then the Lord Tamer is speaking again, and Baekhyun finds himself frozen.

“The halfling did something, right?” the First Tamer calls. “I should have killed you years ago. I should still kill you now.”

Something snaps, and Baekhyun hears himself snarling at the Lord Tamer before he’s made the conscious decision to do so. The air in the room darkens, crackling with energy as Prince Jongdae’s tattoos flash. Kai is at the Lord Tamer’s throat, hand pressed there with his claws just teasing the skin of his neck.

“If you kill my son,” Prince Jongdae murmurs, voice dark and so low that each ripple from the echo of his voice carries its own power. “I will take yours and pull his skin from his bones, take him apart limb by limb until he dies from the pain and his body isn’t even recognizable. And then, I will do the same thing to you.” He spins on his heel and walks out of the office with only two short gestures. Baekhyun blinks before he realizes he’s being asked to follow, and he grabs a stunned-looking Taehyung on his way out.

The moment they step outside of the office, the air calms, and Baekhyun relaxes. It takes a moment for Taehyung to shake himself back into alertness.

“Taehyung,” Baekhyun whispers. “Are you--?”

“Yeah,” his friends returns, a little breathless. “That was just. A lot. Of power. I wasn’t expecting-- I mean!” He’s grinning all of a sudden, nearly bouncing on his toes. Relief floods Baekhyun. This is the Taehyung he knows. “The son of a prince!” He pauses in his movements and then leans in very slowly, nearly pushing his nose up against Baekhyun’s.

“Baekhyun,” he says, serious. “I called a demon prince.” He’s up and bouncing around the following second. “Can you believe I called a demon prince!” He jolts, and Baekhyun is honestly not sure how he’s supposed to keep up with Taehyung’s thoughts. He almost pities Jimin for a moment before he remembers how much the duke loves to hate him.

“Prince Jongdae,” Taehyung says, quiet and respectful. “This is yours.” He bows a little as he hands out a small vial. The glass is just barely colored with a bit of red. Jongdae’s blood.

“Thank you,” Jongdae says, grinning. It’s a real grin this time, the one Baekhyun remembers seeing in Jongdae’s court and when he first met him. He really should have seen the relationship between the demon prince and himself; all the signs were there. “You should go and call Jimin,” Jongdae encourages. “He likes to fret.”

Taehyung snickers. “He’s dumb,” he says fondly, and then with another short bow, scampers off.

“He’s an interesting boy,” Jongdae states. He settles a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, guiding him away from the hallway leading back to the dorms and down the opposite corridor instead. This one leads up to the lobby of Gatewatchers.

“He’s eccentric,” Baekhyun agrees.

“He’s a very good Tamer, too,” Jongdae continues. Baekhyun just nods, falling into step alongside his father. His father. It’s mind-boggling knowledge, too strange to even think.

“What should I call you?” Baekhyun blurts out as Jongdae leads him through the lobby into one of the facility’s mini museums. “I mean. If you’re my father…?”

“Prince Jongdae,” the demon states in answer. “Demons are made, not born. My name and title are how you should call me on the Hell plane no matter your ranking. Titles like ‘dad’ and ‘father’ do not exist for us.” He scrunches up his face for a second. “I suppose if you were the Demon King, you could call me whatever you wanted.”

Baekhyun recoils. “I don’t want to be king of anything.”

Jongdae just laughs. “Luckily, someone else will be taking that position. So ‘Prince Jongdae’ it is.” He leads Baekhyun to the back wall of the museum; a battle scene of dying Tamers and more dying demons is painted on a large canvas.

The Old Demon Wars reads a small description underneath it.

“The Angel of Death ended these,” Jongdae says.

“You told me,” Baekhyun murmurs, barely able to stop himself from reaching forward to trace out what looks exactly like Jongdae’s frame. “You also said you ended her.”

Jongdae tilts his head to the side. “Did I?” he muses. “I seem to recall you came to that conclusion yourself.” Baekhyun gapes. “I might not like Minseok, but I wasn’t lying when I said she’s well.”

“So my mother is in hell? And an immortal, if she’s been breathing the miasma, right?” Baekhyun asks, heart beating a little too fast. “Kyungsoo said he wasn’t allowed to tell me, but--”

“I thought he’d keep his silence,” Jongdae murmurs. “They always were very close. Kyungsoo and your mother.”

Baekhyun kind of wants to stamp his foot. “But who was she?”

“Is she,” Jongdae corrects. “I just said she’s not dead.” He rolls his shoulders back. “She’s in my court.” The demon prince extends a hand to another display, his index finger resting just under a plaque showing an image much like the one that had completed the histories of the Old Demon Wars on the tapestries in his court. This image, however, comes with an tiny engraved title and a name.

Luna Park, it reads. The Angel of Death.

Baekhyun’s wing burns just slightly.

“She didn’t tame you,” he murmurs, reaching out to trace his fingers over the letters. “I don’t understand.” He looks up at Jongdae, sees the affection in his gaze as he stares at the picture of Luna Park. “How could she have ended the war?”

Jongdae’s eyes slide over to Baekhyun’s. “Trust me on this, Baekhyun,” he says. “If Sehun could end this war simply by stopping fighting because you asked him to, he would.”

At the mention of his demon’s name, Baekhyun immediately reaches out for the blood exchange, sinking into the slight hum of it.

“But he’s tamed,” Baekhyun says. “He has to listen to me.”

“He listens because he wants to,” Jongdae corrects him.

Baekhyun disagrees, but he does not say so. Instead he turns back to the Angel of Death. “So you wanted to listen?” he prompts.

“I like pretty things,” Jongdae explains. “Waged war over pretty things for centuries. Destroyed courts to get to the prettiest demons. Prince Chanyeol is probably still displeased from how much damage I caused his court trying to get to his sister over four centuries ago.” He shrugs. “Beauty should be treasured, and I thought I’d had all the prizes my world had to offer. And then, one Night Hunt, there she was, the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He smiles as he talks, and it’s the gentlest expression Baekhyun has ever seen on the demon prince. Jongdae presses his fingers against his palm where the ends of the lightning bolts reach. “Once she had me, there was no reason to fight anymore. The prettiest woman on both planes was mine.”

“But she didn’t tame you?” Baekhyun asks again.

“She didn’t need to,” Jongdae says. “I was ready to stop the moment I saw her.”

“You can’t have an Eternity with her though,” Baekhyun says. “At least with a blood exchange you would be connected somehow.”

“Did you know not all demons choose to have an Eternity bond?” Jongdae asks. Baekhyun shuts his mouth. “Some demons stay together for the entirety of their existence without bonding together. It’s not a requirement.”

“You don’t want one?”

“I don’t need one,” Jongdae corrects. “I’m not going to stop loving her just because I have to ask her what she’s thinking instead of hearing her thoughts in my head.”

“But a blood exchange--”

“Understand this,” Jongdae interrupts. “A blood exchange is between a Tamer and a demon. It clearly defines who holds power over the other. I’m a prince. I’m not going to love someone who forces me to bow to her.” Baekhyun watches that affectionate expression cross Jongdae’s face again, and the prince looks back at the picture of Luna. “She is mine, and I am hers. That’s our version of Eternity.”

Oh. Baekhyun thinks, remembering how many times he has told Sehun that the prince belongs to him. Sehun telling him that the Tamer is his in return echoes in his mind. Oh.

A moment of silence passes, Baekhyun torn between burying himself in the blood exchange and completely avoiding it. If this is a blood exchange at all-- that always seems to be the question. Maybe it was when this started, but a lot has changed since Baekhyun first tamed Sehun, since Baekhyun first fought beside Sehun, since Baekhyun entered Hell for Sehun.

Since Baekhyun held Sehun in his arms and questioned whether or not he really wanted to leave.

He bites his lip, squeezing his eyes shut and shoving those thoughts to the back of his mind. Jongdae gives him this strangely comforting look, like he’s assuring Baekhyun that he’ll figure it out soon. It’s kind of nice to feel like he’s not alone in the world, to know about his origin.

“Shouldn’t Hell have stopped all wars?” Baekhyun inquires. “If the Old Demon Wars were over? Besides Night Hunt, I mean.”

Jongdae reaches out, setting his hands on Baekhyun’s shoulders. “Why do you think Luna and I didn’t raise you ourselves? Even after I stopped fighting, my court was attacked for years for all of the damage I’d caused. At least here, with my brother and Joonmyun and Kyungsoo to keep an eye on you, you would be able to survive.” He leans forward just a bit. “The attacks on my court have stopped, but Hell won’t be organized again until we have a King in power.”

Baekhyun blinks. “The moon--”

“No. Not King Lu Han,” Jongdae interjects. His eyes are mournful. “He’s been destroyed by this plane. The long stretches without miasma. The pining for a man he wanted who was terrified of him the moment he realized King Lu Han wasn’t going to hand over his power and be tamed.” He grip on Baekhyun’s shoulders tightens.

“Promise me something, Baekhyun,” he says. His tail wraps around Baekhyun’s wrist, and the heat of hellfire surges through Baekhyun again. Such proximity to another demon has Sehun reaching for Baekhyun through the blood exchange, and Baekhyun immediately reaches back to reassure him that everything is fine.

“What is it?”

“Stand by Sehun no matter what happens,” Jongdae says. “He’s going to need you.” Baekhyun nods, and the blood exchange sings.

“He’s mine,” Baekhyun says. Jongdae stares at him for another moment before he lets go, thumbing over Baekhyun’s ear.

“You had the tiniest pointed ears when you were born,” he says. “Shame to see you grew out of that.” Baekhyun shrugs his hand away, eyeing Jongdae’s ears. The prince’s ears are pointed and heavily pierced much like Sehun’s, not quite as exaggerated as Prince Chanyeol’s ears.

“Human quality,” Baekhyun offers in explanation, touching his fingers to his ears. Jongdae simply hums and holds out his wrist, palm facing up.

“You can send me back,” he says. “I’m tired of breathing this air.”

Baekhyun can’t fault him that; his own throat is still scratchy. He flexes his fingers, claws extended out, and drags them across the demon prince’s arm. Jongdae’s blood drips from his fingers to the floor.

“Demon Prince Jongdae,” Baekhyun orders. “Leave.”

The gates flares into existence, and Baekhyun gulps down any miasma he can as Jongdae sinks back down to his home plane.

“I’ll see you soon,” Jongdae promises. A little vial flies up from the gate, and Baekhyun catches it just as the gate closes. It’s the same vial that Taehyung had handed back to the demon prince, only now it’s refilled with Jongdae’s blood. A sense of foreboding creeps over Baekhyun, and he drops the vial into an inner pocket of his jacket.

For right now, he’s safe, but something is just on the horizon. All of them, demons and Tamers alike, can feel it. By the end of the next Night Hunt, this battle between demons and humans will be decided. Baekhyun turns and strides from the mini museum towards his room. The revelations of today have come with the price of knowing exactly how deep this mess he's been born into, and frankly, Baekhyun just wants to sleep for a few hours until he's ready to sort through all of the thoughts in his head.

His father. Sehun. The Lord Tamer. The Demon King. Eternity. Blood Exchange. They all spin ceaselessly in his mind until Baekhyun collapses in his bed and slips away into dreamless nothing.

***

Baekhyun turns his father’s words over his mind for days. Does he He wants to call out Sehun, but he doesn’t have a reason to beyond wanting to see him. That alone is enough to scare Baekhyun away from making the call even if Sehun has already assured him that his court is doing well, that he can spend time away.

That he can be with Baekhyun if he needs him.

Baekhyun bites his lips. He does need Sehun, as both his demon and as his prince. It’s confusing; it’s easier to ignore it. The blood exchange, however, doesn’t allow for Baekhyun to simply ignore his connection with Sehun, and the longer he waits to call Sehun to him, the more the blood exchange rushes in his ears, the more Sehun pulls on the connection, and the more Baekhyun becomes desperate to see his demon.

He cracks a week out from Night Hunt, watching Jimin throw Taehyung’s food at his Tamer in Taehyung’s room. He presses an arm over his markings, but he can’t stop the insistent warmth spreading down his arm and through his shoulders as Sehun reaches for him again.

The miniature food fight pauses, Taehyung’s laughter cutting out. “Why are you torturing yourself like this, princeling?” his friend asks him.

Baekhyun jerks, trying to bring his gaze into focus. It’s difficult with the incessant caterwauling of the blood exchange. He gets bleary eyes focused on Jimin, and the duke of his father’s court is sneering at him.

“You’re such an idiot, honestly,” he says. “Eternities aren’t meant to be ignored.”

“We don’t have an Eternity,” Baekhyun hisses.

“You fucking do--!” A piece of broccoli hits Jimin square in the nose, shutting him up long enough for Taehyung to scramble to Baekhyun’s side, pulling him up to his feet.

“Come on,” he urges. “I’ll help you back to your room. You can call Sehun there.” The Tamer glares at Jimin. “You wait here,” he orders. Jimin grumbles but does as he’s told. Baekhyun remembers Jongdae’s words about balance, and he thinks of how he and Sehun have traded places over and over again until settling in this awkward position where neither knows if he should reach out or step back.

Baekhyun stumbles, and Taehyung catches him, throwing Baekhyun’s arm over his shoulders. Baekhyun’s knees feel only seconds from buckling.

“If it hurts this badly,” Taehyung begins, keeping his voice gentle. Baekhyun can barely hear him over the blood exchange. “Why are you waiting?”

Baekhyun shakes his head in answer. He doesn’t trust himself to open his mouth right now. There are only two words he wants to say, but at the same time, the calling command is the one thing he’s trying his hardest to avoid.

“Baekhyun, you have to walk,” Taehyung says. Baekhyun forces himself to start moving; he hadn’t realized he’d stopped.

“Sorry,” he mumbles.

“That’s okay,” Taehyung soothes. Through his bangs he makes out his door and dimly registers Taehyung digging in Baekhyun’s pocket for his key card. His friend gets his door open, practically dragging Baekhyun inside. He makes to let Baekhyun go, but Baekhyun’s legs give way, the high pitched singing of the blood exchange becoming a long, drawn-out wail.

Taehyung grabs him, pulling him up to his feet and slashing his own knife across the markings on Baekhyun’s palm.

“Call him,” he urges. Baekhyun shakes his head, the blood dripping to the floor. By sheer force of the connection, the gate opens, small and fragile, in front of him. “Baekhyun, come on!”

“Sehun,” Baekhyun says. Taehyung shakes him lightly. “Come.” His voice is quiet, but it rings just enough through his room. The gate surges to life even with such weak urging, the iron gates of Baekhyun’s demon rising from the swirling miasma. At the sight, the snakes and spiders that signified the two queens crumbling away from the gates, Baekhyun immediately feels more focused, feels revitalized as he breathes in miasma. Sehun steps out from the gate, and Baekhyun can’t stop himself from pulling free of Taehyung’s hold, stepping immediately into Sehun’s arms. The demon grabs him, hand settling along his face.

“Yes, Tamer?”

Baekhyun lays his hand over Sehun’s, and opens his mouth to say something, but he realizes a moment before he does that he hasn’t got anything worth much to say. Demons don’t believe in words; demons believe in practice, but Baekhyun isn’t ready to press himself right up against Sehun and seal his mouth over the demon’s.

“It was time,” Baekhyun says. His words give little in terms of explanation, but Sehun nods all the same. Baekhyun takes that as his cue to step away from his demon and release his hand. He glances over his shoulder at Taehyung who is picking idly at a fingernail and observing the ceiling.

“Well,” he sing-songs. “Now that that’s sorted out, I’m going to go.” He jerks his thumbs over his shoulders and steps back towards the door to Baekhyun’s room. “lay nice, princeling,” he says before he slips past the threshold, disappearing. The door shuts, leaving them alone without anywhere to go because Taehyung still has Baekhyun’s keycard. Baekhyun sighs, moving to yell after Taehyung.

Sehun’s hand on his wrist stops him. “Wait,” he says. It’s barely anything, not more than a gentle urging, but without Taehyung watching, with nothing to stop Baekhyun from falling into Sehuns arms and holding onto him the way he did during his days in Sehun's court, Baekhyun turns on his heel and backtracks to wrap his arms around Sehun's waist.

The blood exchange picks up, singing quietly in a quick melody that matches the relieved racing of Baekhyun's heart.

"Baekhyun," Sehun breathes, and his arms fall easily around Baekhyun in turn. Baekhyun breathes him in, tilts his face up until Sehun meets him halfway. His kisses steal Baekhyun's breath away, guide him along the tempo of their blood exchange.

"I'm sorry," Baekhyun says when Sehun pulls away to nip at his jaw. "For not calling you sooner."

"Not now," Sehun murmurs. "Just let me--" He doesn't finish speaking, but he doesn't need to. Baekhyun himself is too caught up in Sehun's body against his to need vocal explanations. He just doesn't want to feel alone anymore like he has ever since he stepped out of the Hell plane.

He's felt like a demon among humans, and now he feels like he's apart of something bigger. Maybe that's the effect of knowing who his parents are; maybe it's the effect of having Sehun beside him. It's so demon-like of his to prefer to be around other demons, to be a social creature.

The human plane feels less and less like home with every second that passes with Sehun's arms around him.

They stumble together, Baekhyun and Sehun, refusing to let the other go, towards Baekhyun's bed. Sehun falls back, and Baekhyun falls forward. It's like this, wrapped up in each other, that the blood exchange turns to a soothing lullaby. They don't have to do anything more than breathe in each other, wrapped in an embrace that has been delayed for far too long by Baekhyun's stubbornness.

"I missed you," Sehun admits, lips against Baekhyun's temple. Baekhyun twists his fingers a little tighter in Sehun's shirt and let the memory of those words spoken in Sehun's voice lure him to sleep.

***

The sun streaming through Baekhyun's open curtains wakes him from the most comfortable sleep he had had in awhile. Waking up like this, wrapped up in Sehun's arms, it's exactly what Baekhyun remembers from his nights on the Hell plane spent sleeping next to Sehun. Only in Hell, Baekhyun never woke first. He never had the opportunity to simply bask in the warmth of Sehun's arms, his demon rising to tend to his court long before Baekhyun ever woke up.

Baekhyun rolls over carefully so as to not wake Sehun, twisting within the cage of the prince's arms to stare at his demon. He has to squint against the sun, the bright yellow far harsher than the purple sun of the Hell plane's daytime. It doesn't complement Sehun's complexion the way the Hell plane does, but he still looks every inch the powerful demon that he is.

Baekhyun shifts, lifting a hand to run the tips of his fingers ever so lightly along the line of Sehun's jaw, to drag his thumb across his bottom lip. The tip of his fang scrapes over the pad of Baekhyun's thumb, and the danger of the action coupled with the safety he feels at Sehun's side sends a little thrill through Baekhyun. He realizes in this moment, this little span of time that belongs to him and his demon, that those days spent without Sehun were useless pain forged in a useless attempt at being a Tamer only.

Baekhyun wants only one thing, and that is to be by Sehun's side. It's a thought he's had since he spent time with Sehun in his court, and it's a thought that time and distance are not going to erase.

The blood exchange hums gently in his veins, and Sehun's murmurs a little in his sleep. Baekhyun's mouth splits in a fond grin, a sort of proud smile because Sehun is _his._ He runs his fingers through Sehun's silver hair, watches the sunlight glance off of the strands as they fall back over Sehun's eyes. He imagines the purple sun shining in Sehun's hair instead, imagines the slight shine of red miasma on his cheeks from being so still during sleep. 

Baekhyun thumbs over the tips of Sehun's pointed ears, the jewelry there clanging together ever so lightly as he does, and Sehun breathes in deeply, fingers flexing against the markings on Baekhyun's back.

"Tamer," Sehun murmurs softly, curling forward towards Baekhyun a bit as he wakes, eyelids fluttering. The red of his eyes is bit dim, muted from sleep. The song of the blood exchange turns melancholy, and Baekhyun knows sleep is not the only thing keeping his eyes from being as bright and fierce as he knows them to be.

"My prince," Baekhyun whispers in reply as if they were on the Hell plane, as if they were a prince and his lover instead of a demon and his Tamer. Sehun stiffens, and his fingers press a little harder against Baekhyun's wing. Baekhyun pulls his hand away from Sehun's face immediately, scooching back a few inches in an attempt to escape his demon's hold. "Sorry," he says even if he's not sure why he is apologizing. "I shouldn't have--" He cuts himself off. Shouldn't have what? Called Sehun his? Sehun _is_ his. 

"You called me," Sehun breaks in.

Baekhyun relaxes. "Yes," he says. "I did."

"You were hurting yourself," Sehun chides gently. "Hurting us." Guilt swims through Baekhyun at those words, bile rising in the back of his throat.

"I wasn't sure if I--" He swallows and tries again. "I didn't need you at the time, and your court was hurt. I didn't know-- wasn't sure--" Sehun presses his finger over Baekhyun's lips, and Baekhyun quiets. He doesn't know what he really wants to say anyway; he has nothing to say in his defense. He hadn't called Sehun even though he had wanted to. He had mostly avoided the blood exchange, keeping himself closed off from his demon.

"I told you that you could call me," Sehun says. "You seemed so happy when I said that." It's he who runs his fingers through Baekhyun's hair, brushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"I was," Baekhyun answers quickly. "But then so much happened, and I was being stubborn."

"You are stubborn," Sehun agrees. He leans forward then, burying his face in Baekhyun's neck and simply breathing. Baekhyun murmurs an agreement against the top of Sehun's head. Sehun trembles in his hold, and the melancholy voice of the blood exchange croons a little louder.

"Sehun?" Baekhyun questions. Sehun's breath fans out across Baekhyun's collarbone, and the time they spent separated suddenly feels like eons of torture.

"I wanted you to call me," Sehun murmurs. He follows his admission with a short suck on Baekhyun's pulse point, and Baekhyun's head falls back. "I told you could call me and then you didn't call." His teeth graze over Baekhyun's collarbone. "I thought I'd lost you. I thought for sure you'd returned to just being a Tamer." He stops suddenly, drawing back, and Baekhyun grasps at Sehun's shirt so as not to lose his balance even with them lying lined up on his bed.

"I thought you didn't want me the way I want you."

The pain, the sadness, the uncertainty-- all of it floods Baekhyun over the blood exchange, and he wraps himself around Sehun, pulling his demon closer against him. It's all Baekhyun can do to hold onto Sehun to tell him he doesn't want to be without him. He hopes Sehun can understand the meaning of his gesture even as he voices that Sehun's fears we

"I tried to be apart from you," Baekhyun says. "I tried to just be a Tamer. But I'm not-- that's not who I am." They fall back together, limbs tangled as they settle back on Baekhyun's bed again. Baekhyun lifts his hand to again run his fingers through Sehun’s hair, but Sehun grabs his wrist, stopping his just short of touching him.

"Tamer's don't show this kind of affection, Baekhyun," Sehun says. His tone borders on hopeful, but he also sounds guarded. "Tamers keep their demons alive because the demon's life equals their own."

Baekhyun twists his wrist, the harsh motion startling Sehun into letting go. Baekhyun's hand falls to Sehun's jaw, and he forces himself to look past the way Sehun is frozen still, neither leaning into his touch or away from it.

"I just said I can't only be your Tamer," Baekhyun says. "I want--" He stops. He breathes, swiping his thumb along Sehun's cheek and pressing himself in close to his demon until he can almost feel Sehun's heartbeat through his shirt.

Sehun's voice is quiet, but it echoes through Baekhyun's body as the blood exchange crescendos. "What do you want, Baekhyun?"

Baekhyun grabs for Sehun's hand, tangling their fingers together. Their mirrored marks fit right up against each other, and Baekhyun's burn against his skin.

"I think," he starts, taking in a shaky breath. He looks away from Sehun, unable to just speak his desires with Sehun watching him so intently. "I think when all of this is over, I--" He pauses, swallowing before forcing himself to meet Sehun's eyes. It's comforting to see his demon's face, but the intensity of his stare has Baekhyun clutching onto his hand just a bit tighter. 

"When all of this is over I want to be yours."

He finishes speaking with a loud exhale, and it seems to bounce off the walls as silence settles between them. Sehun looks at him with almost careful eyes, his body tense as if in pain, and Baekhyun realizes his words have not been met with mutual agreement. _Oh,_ he mouths because he can't break this silence sitting heavily around them. Sehun shakes his head, a barely there side-to-side motion. Pain slices through Baekhyun's chest, and he pulls away from Sehun as fast as his hurt will allow. He drops his hand from Sehun's jaw and releases his other hand, moving away to sit at the edge of his bed. His legs feel weak, the blood exchange's song turned into minor notes crying between them, and Baekhyun doesn't understand why Sehun is suddenly so withdrawn at his words when all signs had pointed toward him wanting this.

"Baekhyun," Sehun begins, and his fingers curl in the hem of Baekhyun's shirt. 

"I don't understand," Baekhyun whispers, staring at his feet. "You were always telling me I'm yours, telling me I'm more demon than human, holding me like it meant something to you, and now I'm _agreeing_ with you, so you don't want that anymore?" He twists, watches Sehun's face crumple, watches sadness -- the same sadness tearing Beaekhyun apart, the pain of distance between two hearts -- dig its claws into his demon.

Can Baekhyun really call Sehun _his_ if Sehun does not want to be his?

Sehun sits up, pulling Baekhyun around to face him properly. Baekhyun allows himself to be maneuvered, too numb and maybe too willing to feel Sehun's touch to shake him off.

"Listen to me," Sehun requests. "Baekhyun." Baekhyun doesn't move, and the blood exchange is sinking lower and lower in key. "Believe me when I say I want you." Baekhyun bites his lip.

"Then why--"

"Listen," Sehun interrupts. " _I_ want you. _I_ believe you've always been more demon than human, especially with the blood of two princes in your veins. _I_ know you're worth as much as my court to _me._ " He reaches out, tilts Baekhyun's head up with a hand under his chin. "But Baekhyun, that's all about me. That's all about what I think. That's what I long for." He lets go of Baekhyun's chin, running his hand down Baekhyun's marked arm instead. "But Baekhyun, what do you want?"

Anger and hurt-- they wrap their claws around Baekhyun's throat. He chokes out, "I said I wanted to be yours."

Sehun sighs. "You said you think you want to be," he corrects.

Baekhyun sputters. "That's a technicality!" His protest is met with Sehun reeling back from him, shaking his head again.

"Baekhyun, being mine is _forever,_ " Sehun murmurs. "You can't just think it's something you want. There isn't a second chance with an Eternity."

"I don't want second chances," Baekhyun argues. "I want you."

"And yet," Sehun starts, and the hurt, the loneliness is raw on his features. He lets go of Baekhyun completely. There's only an inch or two between them, but it feels like a chasm. "When you were in my court, the only thing you wanted to do was figure out how you could come back here to the human plane."

The gate swirling beneath Baekhyun's feet, the fight out front of Sehun's court, Queen Jessica's head rolling across the ground to rest in a pool of Duke Tao's blood-- Baekhyun remembers these things. He remembers calling out for Sehun the moment he had woken up in Joonmyun's house, needing the touch of his demon, feeling so off balance on this miasma-barren plane.

"I didn't want to leave," Baekhyun says. "You know at the end I begged you not to make me leave. I screamed for you to let me fight beside you."

"I promised you I would return you home."

"This isn't a home," Baekhyun hisses. "I came back here because I had to! Because you promised you would get me back here in any way you could. Because I had to find out the truth about Night Hunt, about myself, about the Lord Tamer." He leans forward, grabbing for Sehun's hands. "I've never felt at home more than I did in your court."

"Baekhyun," Sehun whispers. "You didn't say any of that me before you left. To me, it just looked like you wanted to get out of the Hell plane. Like you wanted to be human."

Baekhyun bristles at the idea where only months before he would have denied it vehemently. "I became more demon than human the moment I entered Hell's gates to fight with you again the two queens' court."

"You accepted your demon half and came to my aid," Sehun agrees. "But that doesn't make you mine beyond the fact that your are my Tamer. You did everything to protect my life. All Tamers do that to ensure their own continued vitality."

Baekhyun shakes his head. "It's more than that, Sehun."

"Is it?" Sehun demands. He sounds almost angry, but hurt and uncertainty are the only emotions reaching Baekhyun from Sehun's side of the blood exchange. "I know for a fact that I am yours, Baekhyun," Sehun says. "But beyond you saying that you're mine, you haven't shown it in action. You haven't shown me that you are more than my Tamer. And you expect me to agree to enter an Eternity with you?"

"Trust my words!" Baekhyun pleads, but he's lived among demons; he's part demon himself. He knows words means little in the face of action, and he knows, with a horrible sense of dread, of guilt and hopeless apology, that Sehun is right.

"I trust you," Sehun says. "The issue is I trust you to want to stay away from my side when you no longer need a demon."

Baekhyun shakes his head. "I don't need just a demon," he says. "I need you." He ducks his head. "Haven't you always said our blood exchange feels like an Eternity?"

"It does," Sehun acquiesces. "At least it feels almost the way an Eternity is described to feel. But if you give me an order right now, I'll be bound to obey it. This bond between us is closer to an Eternity than any blood exchange I have ever seen or heard of, but Eternities do not have marks." He reaches for Baekhyun's arm, digs his fingers into his own markings there before he lifts Baekhyun's hand and ducks his shoulder to press Baekhyun's fingers against Baekhyun's wing on his own back. "We wouldn't have these if this was an Eternity."

"I'll show you then," Baekhyun promises. "I'm being sincere." The blood exchange murmurs a little hopeful tune, and Sehun looks like he's about to challenge Baekhyun to prove himself, or maybe he's about to warn Baekhyun away from even trying, when a racket sounding like two sets of feet hurdling down the hallway outside reaches them.

"Baekhyun!" barrels through the walls, and Baekhyun leaps up from his bed, jamming his feet into his boots just as Taehyung's voice reaches him through his door. "Baekhyun!"

"His demon is here too," Sehun says, climbing out of Baekhyun's bed and straightening his clothing. Baekhyun shoves his arms into his Tamer jacket. Sehun eyes it for a moment, his eyes caught on the area where the missing crest should be.

"It's Taehyung," Baekhyun replies. "He almost always has Jimin with him."

"I still have your key, princeling!" Taehyung shouts. Baekhyun looks back at Sehun.

"We will talk about this more later," he says, and then, realizing it sounds like an order, like Sehun has no choice, he tacks on, "If that's alright." Sehun doesn't offer a response, and Taehyung starts counting down from three.

"Two!" he calls out. "One!"

The door slams open, and Taehyung and Jimin shove through. The demon stumbles to a halt only a few steps away from Baekhyun, and Baekhyun almost doesn't expect Sehun to move to his side as he always does. His demon does move to cover him as he always has, and it's comfortable to stand at Sehun's side simply for the familiarity of it.

“Baekhyun,” Taehyung bursts out, slightly panting. “Kyungsoo is back.”

“A little late now,” Baekhyun grumbles. “I already met with Lord Tamer.” Jimin rolls his eyes. Sehun shows his fangs at the rude gesture towards Baekhyun, and both Taehyung and Baekhyun throw nearly identical expression of ‘don’t!’ towards their demons.

"Why was he gone?" Sehun asks.

“He went out to retrieve a new Tamer,” Taehyung explains in a rush. He looks towards Baekhyun. “Remember? I told you.”

“But a tamed demon is loyal to his Tamer,” Baekhyun argues. He glances up at Sehun. “Unless he’s a prince,” he murmurs under his breath. This time, Sehun shoots him a look that says 'don't.' Looking back at Jimin and Taehyung, he adds, “Demons only bow to those they deem the ‘right’ authority.” Jimin murmurs agreement to his statement, but Sehun steps forward.

“Unless the demon is one of Queen Krystal’s,” he interjects. "She wouldn't want any of her demons to be tamed right now. Obviously, she never has. But now she needs as many to fight for her as possible if she's planning to take over the Hell plane. If the Tamer was at all weakened by the fight, his new demon is probably fighting the Tamer as much as possible."

"The blood exchange won't allow that," Jimin nearly growls. "It doesn't allow demons choices. It doesn't allow us to fight back."

"It causes pain for both parties," Baekhyun argues. Sehun nudges him. _Now isn't the time for this,_ hisses at Baekhyun through the blood exchange.

"No, it doesn't," Taehyung says. His eyes are sharp on Baekhyun. "That was just you." Baekhyun's mouth snaps shut. Sehun presses up against his side.

"So are we going to go see this new pair or not?" Jimin demands. For once, Baekhyun is grateful for his distraction.

"Have they already been to Lord Tamer?" Baekhyun asks.

Taehyung is already reaching for Jimin's hand, tugging him back out the door. "No," he says, and his voice is bright and excited. "Second Tamer won't let them." Baekhyun's eyes shoot wide open, and he gestures for Sehun to follow as he trails after his friend.

"How can Joonmyun do that?" Baekhyun asks. Taehyung skips once before picking up speed, jogging down the hallways. Baekhyun matches his pace.

"He can't," Taehyung says. "But he grabbed Kyungsoo before he could take them to his father." He turns down a corridor opposite from the one that leads down to the First Tamer's office. "Lord Tamer hasn't even heard that they've returned yet." Jimin urges them to run a little faster.

"We don't have much time," he pants. "Kyungsoo sent Duchess Irene and Duchess Seulgi to find me, and I ran for Taehyung."

"This taming is not going to be approved if we can’t help get the blood exchange settled," Taehyung continues. "And this is our only chance to get information about what's going on in hell that's isn't from a Prince's perspective." Jimin growls, and Taehyung swats him playfully upside the head. "Don't even try to tell me you're not repeating Prince Jongdae's words verbatim when you make reports."

"Besides," Baekhyun cuts in before the Tamer-demon pair starts to squabble. "If this new demon is from Krystal's court, maybe he knows something about her plans." The four of them turn a corner towards the Second Tamer's lab, and Taehyung, as per usual, doesn't bother to knock, instead barging in and dragging the others inside with him.

The reek of the weird chemicals in Joonmyun's "lab of horrors" burns Baekhyun's nose, and he turns immediately, instinctively to bury his face against Sehun's shoulder, breathing the residual miasma on his skin. Sehun let's him. Comforted like this, it takes Baekhyun a second before he looks up, fangs dropping as the snarling and hissing of another demon fills his ears.

A Tamer Baekhyun has seen around with Taehyung before but has never met himself sits in front of Joonmyun with Kyungsoo standing just behind him, his hand settled on the new Tamer's shoulder. A blonde-haired demon sits at the Tamer's side. The demon's tail is long, curled around the backrest of the chair, but Baekhyun can feel his power, can feel the way Sehun is entirely unthreatened by this demon's presence. He's a mid-level.

"Knocking," Joonmyun reminds gently, before waving a hand towards the door. Taehyung scrambles to apologize and hurries to shut the lab door. The new Tamer flinches at the sound of the door jam clicking into place, and his demon smirks next to him. Kyungsoo leans down and whispers something to the new Tamer; encouragement, Baekhyun presumes.  
Sehun lets out a slight growl deep in his chest. It shivers through Baekhyun's body, and he presses the tip of one of his claws against his thigh to calm himself.

The mid-level jerks, eyes wild before they focus on the demon prince in the room. The mid-level is rather short, far smaller than his Tamer, but he's got an extra set of fangs curving beside his primary ones that speak to the power hidden in his small frame.

"You're not newly made," Sehun says. It's not a question, and the mid-level doesn't offer any sort of acknowledgement. Sehun steps in closer, his power radiating off of him, heat searing against Baekhyun's skin. Joonmyun and Kyungsoo both glance at the demon prince and then at Baekhyun with questioning in their eyes. Baekhyun shakes his head. Sehun continues, "You're one of Queen Krystal's."

The mid-level licks his lips. "Yes," he hisses. "And you're the prince who abandoned my Queen."

Sehun doesn't snarl like Baekhyun expects him to. Instead he merely shows his fangs. "If she tries to kill you," he starts, eyeing the mid-level with disdain. "Will you stay and let her?"

The mid-level does snarl. "I will die if my queen asks it of me."

"You're a fool," Sehun says. The mid-level answers with a bark of sarcastic laughter. His Tamer squeezes his hands together, staring hard at the mid-level, obviously trying to get control over him. It's not working. "What's your name?"

The Tamer beside the mid-level opens his mouth to answer, but Taehyung's voice cuts across all of them.

"Hush, Jeonggukkie," he says. The Tamer's mouth snaps shut. Baekhyun glances between the new Tamer and his demon. He has no doubt this Tamer, Jeongguk, was a skilled Watcher and will make a good Tamer. He just didn't expect the opposition this mid-level is giving him, and it's shaken him enough that his control over the demon is weak. Baekhyun flashes back to pressing his claws to Sehun's chest, taunting him to kill himself if he wants to see Baekhyun dead so badly.

They've come a long way since then, and yet now they stand on the edge of tearing each other apart forever or standing side-by-side for all time.

"Your name," Sehun demands again, and the demon's eyes narrow even as his mouth shapes the answer.

"Yoongi," the demon answers. Kyungsoo looks surprised, patting Jeongguk's shoulder once. A rush of pride whispers through Baekhyun's chest as Sehun winds his way under this med-level's skin.

"Yoongi of the Court of Two Queens," Sehun murmurs. "Or is that One Queen, now?"

"You tell me," Yoongi sneers. "You're the one who killed her."

"She killed my Duke," Sehun says. His tone is casual, but his tail is lashing out behind him, his fangs showing and the echo in his voice too prominent to hide how much power he holds over this mid-level. "I returned the favor."

"You're a traitor," Yoongi snaps. "If you'd surrendered, she wouldn't have killed him." Baekhyun balls his hands into fists. Through the blood exchange, Sehun reaches out to him, wrapping him in calm, telling him he's got this under control.

"She would have killed me instead," Sehun remarks. Yoongi's grin is slow and feral, fangs slicing through his bottom lip. Sehun leans in, his closeness, the force of his strength, forcing the mid-level to shrink down in his seat. "And then, she would have killed my court. Name me one prince who chooses anything over the life of his court."

"I--"

"You can't," Sehun cuts in.

Yoongi's lips curl, but he's shaken now, his harsh exterior slipping.

"Now, Jeongguk," Joonmyun urges. Baekhyun only just sees the flash of silver over Yoongi's marked arm before Jeongguk digs his fingers into the open wound. Blood wells from the torn flesh, dripping to the floor and nearly black against the white linoleum.

"Connect!" Jeongguk orders. Baekhyun can't hear the song of their blood exchange as it roars to life, but the markings on the Tamer's arm and the demon's arm both flash in rapid, off-beat pulses for a long moment before slowing into a timed flash in tandem. The change is obvious as the blood exchange settles between them, and Sehun backs up, returning to Baekhyun's side.

"Thank you," Baekhyun tells his demon, watching as Jeongguk straightens his posture, taking full control of his role as Tamer. The connection between the new pair isn't as strong as the one between Taehyung and Jimin, and it doesn't even come close to what Baekhyun and Sehun have, but it's firm. The steady flashing of their markings attests to that.

Yoongi looks vaguely dazed. "Let go, Tamer," he orders, but his voice isn't quite as harsh. Jeongguk digs his fingers into a little harder before letting go, his hand covered in Yoongi's blood, the most powerful state a Tamer can be in over his demon. Yoongi nods his head-- acceptance.

"Well," Joonmyun says, clapping his hands together. The tense atmosphere all but dissipates, and Baekhyun only just manages to not sag against Sehun. He presses his tongue against the backs of his gums, urging his fangs to retract. "Now that that's settled." The Second Tamer pulls up a chair, settling down with his elbows resting on his knees in front of Yoongi. "I have a question or two for a demon of the Court of Two Queens."

Jeongguk still looks tense, his fingers tapping on his thigh, eyes cutting over beside him where Yoongi sits with a frown on his face. His slumped posture screams contempt, and Baekhyun can feels Sehun’s lack of amusement in the heat radiating from him. His fingers brush against Baekhyun’s arm.

“What is it?” Baekhyun asks quietly. He watches Joonmyun continue to stare the demon down, and he remembers the Second Tamer doing much the same with him when he was young and sure his demon side was too powerful to restrain.

“Queen Krystal letting her demons learn such behavior,” Sehun hisses. “Insult to our culture.” Baekhyun brushes his own fingers over Sehun’s wrist to offer him consolation. It's too easy to pretend Sehun never rejected his claims of want when their blood exchange is running as rampant as it does, when they're standing together in the face of something bigger than their own arguments.

“Joonmyun,” Kyungsoo says. “I’m going to go speak with my father. Stall him for a moment. He must know you’ve intervened by now.”

“We’ll come too!” Taehyung jumps up. Jimin grabs him and holds him from dashing ahead out of the door, stepping in close to his Tamer. Kyungsoo pauses in the threshold to the lab.

“Stay,” the demon murmurs against the shell of Taehyung’s ear. Taehyung glances back and forth between the First Tamer’s son and the Second Tamer.

“Stay,” Baekhyun echoes Jimin. “In case he says something important. Jimin should report to Prince Jongdae.” Taehyung pouts, but Jimin is wearing a serious expression, nodding agreement. Taehyung sighs before mumbling an agreement and slouching down in one of the lab stools. Baekhyun flashes him a grateful smile. Taehyung returns the expression with his fingers held up to his mouth to mimic Baekhyun’s fangs. Kyungsoo leaves. The echoes of him calling his demons back to his side rings in the lab.

“Fine,” breaks through the room, and Baekhyun snaps to attention. Yoongi uncurls his tail from the back of the chair, wrapping it around his own wrist instead. He’s uncomfortable now; Baekhyun recognizes the signs. “What do you want?”

Joonmyun just keeps staring. His patience, his continued stare, is starting to unnerve Jeongguk too, the Tamer shifting in his seat. Baekhyun nudges Sehun towards a set of lab stools. At the light contact, the blood exchange murmurs a low melody line that trips in its curiosity. Baekhyun has no answers for it.

It’s so easy to be beside Sehun. Baekhyun almost revels in it, but he is also aching right now, unsure what the future of him and his demon is.

“I said ‘what do you want?’” Yoongi snarls, expression twisted with agitation.

“Yoongi,” Joonmyun says finally. “What did you do last Night Hunt?”

The demon shifts, eyebrows knitted as he glances at his Tamer. “I was tamed,” he answers. “Obviously.” The markings on his arm flash again. This, his reluctance to listen to his Tamer alongside his clear acceptance of what the bond means, is what Baekhyun was taught by Joonmyun. This is what tamings are usually like, what the blood exchange usually entails. The taming isn’t like Taehyung and Jimin’s relationship where the Tamer’s beliefs built a mutual respect and physical attraction. Tamings are not at all what Baekhyun and Sehun have. Sehun’s hand settles on Baekhyun’s lower back as if to enforce Baekhyun’s thoughts.

“How were you tamed?” Joonmyun continues, frustratingly patient. Yoongi’s fangs click against his bottom teeth.

“Blood exchange,” Yoongi answers, eyes narrow. “There is no other way.” Baekhyun sees Taehyung stiffen out of the corner of his eye, his lips turned in a frown. Jimin settles a hand on his forearm, and Taehyung seemingly calms.

"And you didn't give in," Joonmyun muses. "What are you fighting for?" Yoongi meets his question with silence, eyes flicking between the Second Tamer and Jeongguk.

"His queen," Jeongguk answers for him after a moment. The blood exchange is fully in effect now. The Tamer is staring at Yoongi out of the corner of his eye, his grip white-knuckled around the handle of his knife.

"That's not an astounding answer, Jeongguk," Joonmyun says, voice light.

"It's not the who that concerns me," Jeongguk answers. "It's the why."

"Krystal," Sehun hisses under his breath. Baekhyun presses the tip of a fingernail against Sehun's wrist as both warning and comfort. Joonmyun is close to getting the answers they all need, and Sehun does not to interfere, to rile Yoongi up until the mid-level refuses to cooperate. Sehun shifts, and Baekhyun's finger tips scrape over Sehun's palm before their fingers slot together easily. Baekhyun breathes in; Sehun exhales.

"What is the why?" Joonmyun presses, and the words spill from Yoongi's mouth.

"I'm only a mid-level," the demon answers. "All I know is my queen wants revenge. She wants to reclaim what she lost and use it to destroy this organization." His lips stretch into a feral grin, but the way he leans towards Jeongguk's betrays his sense of loyalty to his Tamer. As if an echo, Sehun steps in closer to Baekhyun too. Jimin, too, has moved to drape his arms protectively across Taehyung's chest.

"So she’s after my brother,” Sehun murmurs. “Prince Jongdae was right.”

“Hell queens are closer to humans,” Yoongi sneers. “They create demons. Humans tame demons.” He laughs, a humourless sound. “But no one can tame the Demon King.”

“How will Krystal get him to follow her then?” Baekhyun demands. “He’s a king. He doesn’t take orders.” Jongdae’s words about him being able to bow to others’ demands ring in Baekhyun’s head. Jongdae is only a prince. How much stronger would the Demon King echo that sentiment?

“Loyalty,” Jimin speaks up. “She’s banking on him being loyal to her for rescuing him from this plane.” Both sets of Yoongi’s fangs dig into his bottom lip, confirming Jimin’s words.

“Very good,” Yoongi says. He twists in his seat, and his tail lashes out behind him. “And if my queen succeeds, well.” He shrugs, dropping his voice low. “You can’t defeat him,” he whispers. “Prince Jongdae is the only one who might have had a chance before he went soft and let himself be taken by that human woman. Haven’t seen him fight in years.” He smirks towards Jimin. “Tell me, Duke: can the prince even still fight?” Rage bubbles up in Baekhyun’s throat, and he bares his fangs.

“My father,” Baekhyun snaps before he can stop himself. “Has respect for his demons. Can that much be said for your queen?” Shock rifles through Baekhyun’s body. It’s Sehun’s shock, and the memory of waking up with shock frantically pulsing through his body, of Sehun pushing him away, is suddenly clear in Baekhyun’s mind. Sehun had found out the truth only hours before Baekhyun did.

“You know?” Sehun whispers. Baekhyun nods slightly, reminding Sehun of the shock he had felt and his subsequent assurances that everything was fine through the blood exchange. Sehun nods; he'd done the same to Baekhyun.

Yoongi blinks. “You’re the halfling,” he breathes. Then his lips split into a cruel smile again. “My queen is going to kill you, did you know?”

“She can try,” Baekhyun snarls. Sehun’s hand rests on the back of Baekhyun’s neck, soothing him, assuring him that he won’t let anyone touch him. The blood exchange murmurs softly.

“All the Tamers must die,” Yoongi explains. “Then the Hell reject. And then,” he sneers, raising one hooked claw towards Baekhyun. “You. Pain for the traitor.” His finger shifts, pointing towards Sehun instead. “And finally, death for the traitor.”

The rage Yoongi had invoked in Baekhyun earlier storms to fill in the gaps under his skin and sit rancid on his tongue. No one will kill Sehun; Baekhyun won’t allow that to happen. He stalks forward, quite sure he wants to tear the demon’s head from his shoulders, or maybe he should tear the Tamer’s head off, watch the demon suffer the same fate he’s describing.

Yoongi jumps up, standing in front of his Tamer with his fangs and claws out. Sehun just laughs.

“Your blood exchange is stronger than you think, mid-level,” he says. He glances at Jeongguk. “You’ll be fine, Tamer.”

“What happens after all of that?” Taehyung asks. “After we’re all dead and Queen Krystal has King Lu Han?”

“Then,” Yoongi starts, tail flicking back and forth as he keeps a distrustful eye on Baekhyun. “Then she will be Queen of Hell alongside the King of Demons. My King will hold the gates open, and we will venture onto this plane and take whatever we want when we want to.”

“We do not need human souls,” Sehun says, showing his fangs. Yoongi matches his expression.

"But they're delicious," Yoongi argues.

"Unnecessary," Sehun states. "The miasma is already enriched with them. Taking souls directly from human bodies doesn't gain us anything." Yoongi is silent for a long moment as that before his face twists into a wicked grin.

“Oh, I see,” Yoongi sneers. “You’re in love with your Tamer.” He scoffs. “The two most powerful princes in the Hell plane, lost to love. No wonder my queen is going to succeed.”

“She’s going to destroy our home,” Jimin spits. "We're never going to stop fighting like this."

“Hell needs peace?” Yoongi asks. “Fuck that. We flourish when we’re fighting.”

“Hell has been at war for centuries,” Sehun tells him. His power fills the room, and Yoongi visibly winces at the sudden assault of the demon prince’s strength. His resolve to end this war between the Earth plane and the Hell plane is thick in the blood exchange, and Baekhyun leans into him, siding with him. “It’s time for peace,” Sehun says, and Baekhyun catches himself mouthing along with the words.

Slowly, Yoongi nods.

“Alright then.” Joonmyun stands, interrupting the three demons. “I have to report this to Lord Minseok. Decide our next plan of action.”

“But Lord Tamer doesn’t want Night Hunt to end,” Baekhyun says. “Any course of action Gatewatchers takes against Krystal will have that result.”

“He doesn’t want to die either,” Joonmyun argues. Baekhyun can’t argue with that; the Lord Tamer has shown his main adjective to be holding power and immortality. “And you both,” the Second Tamer says and gestures at Yoongi and Jeongguk. “Come with me. With your blood exchange settled, you’ll be approved.” Jeongguk stiffens.

“Second Tamer--” he starts, unsure.

“Trust me, Jeongguk,” Joonmyun says. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” Jeongguk follows him, ordering Yoongi along beside him, and the trio brushes past Baekhyun and Sehun. Taehyung hops up, following after them.

“On the off chance that Jeongguk needs me,” he tosses over his shoulder at Baekhyun. “In case he’s problematic like you, princeling.” He sticks his tongue out at Baekhyun who only barely resists the urge to respond with a fanged version of the same expression. “Or Kyungsoo. Who knows what he knows about First Tamer.”

“Taehyung,” Sehun’s low voice stops the other Tamer in his tracks.

“Yes?” Taehyung asks, turning back, his arm linked with Jimin’s.

“Don’t tell Kyungsoo anything he doesn’t ask you for directly,” the demon prince orders.

“But--!”

“It’s not your story to tell,” Sehun says. Taehyung bites his lower lip, but he agrees.

"Taehyung," Baekhyun calls out, holding out his hand. "My keycard." Taehyung flushes, but he fishes the card out of his pocket and tosses it to Baekhyun before scampering off. Jimin meets Sehun’s eyes.

“I’ll watch him,” Jimin promises. He tacks on, right before he runs after his Tamer, “Prince Sehun.” Baekhyun blinks. He’s never seen a display of respect from Jimin towards anyone other than Prince Jongdae.

“It seems he believes Prince Jongdae’s theories more than I do,” Sehun murmurs.

“He seems to know a lot,” Baekhyun says.

“He couldn’t have waged war and won for centuries without knowing a lot,” Sehun muses. Baekhyun takes his hand.

“And this time,” Baekhyun asks. “What theory are you referring to?” Sehun takes a deep breath, turning to meet Baekhyun’s eyes. It’s been awhile since Baekhyun has been so drawn in by the trust Sehun shows him in his red irises, but Baekhyun trusts Sehun completely-- to keep his promises, to protect him. It’s infinitely comfortable to meet Sehun’s gaze and hold it.

“The next demon king, after my brother,” Sehun answers slowly. “If Hell is to enter a time of peace and rebuilding, we need a king. And it can’t be your father.”

“The Old Demon Wars,” Baekhyun whispers. “I know.”

“Baekhyun, I--” Sehun cuts himself off, and understanding dawns on Baekhyun as Sehun’s grip tightens on Baekhyun’s hand.

“It’s you,” he whispers. “The next demon king is you. Once King Lu Han is defeated, his power will go to you. And you’ll be King.” Sehun nods. Images of Sehun torn apart, of demons fighting for his power, flood Baekhyun’s mind. Of course Sehun would be the next Demon King: his brother, lost as he is, is the current King, Sehun has a large court and the support of Hell’s most powerful prince along with a few others. Sehun carries the title of Queen Jessica’s killer.

But Baekhyun knows Sehun is ready to stop fighting, and taking the title of Demon King will lead him through another few years of war until Hell is fully under his control. Without someone to stand beside him, to support him, Baekhyun doesn’t want to think about it, but it’s possible Sehun might not survive, throwing Hell into another wave of turmoil. Silence, too calm, a little too still, settles around them. Sehun has a powerful court. Sehun will take the position of Demon King with someone like Joy or Irene, a powerful duchess, at his side. Or he’ll make a contract with a new Duke, and Baekhyun will be here, on the Earth plane, knowing nothing of Sehun’s fate.

Like a human. All because Sehun doesn't want to agree to enter an Eternity with Baekhyun.

A shudder of disgust burns through Baekhyun’s body. He doesn’t want Sehun to stand with anyone but him at his side, but Baekhyun is a half-demon. Baekhyun isn’t as powerful as the duchess or duke that Sehun could have beside him. At the same time, Sehun is Baekhyun’s. Baekhyun can’t fight off the sudden frustration, the unwillingness to let Sehun go, to let him be the king he could be if it means Baekhyun is trapped here on the human plane once the two worlds separate forever at the end of the upcoming battle.

Baekhyun doesn’t want this next Night Hunt to be the end of his blood exchange with Sehun, but at the same time, he does want it to be the end of their blood exchange and the start of something far more potent.

“Let’s get out of here,” Baekhyun suggests. “The formaldehyde is giving me a headache.” Sehun doesn’t move.

“Are you upset?” 

“No,” Baekhyun answers. Sehun’s thumb brushes across the back of his hand. It’s a lie, Baekhyun’s upset. He’s also proud of his demon; he’s proud of what Sehun will become. He just doesn’t want to lose him. “That’s more fighting for you.”

“I’m a demon, Baekhyun,” Sehun says. “We fight over everything.”

“You’ll be fighting alone,” Baekhyun explains, voice nothing more than a murmur of worry.

“I have my court,” Sehun says. “I won’t be alone.” He stares at Baekhyun. “But I suppose that’s not what you mean by ‘alone.’” He’s asking a question, returning to when he and Baekhyun met. It all goes back to an Eternity; it’s always a question of what does Baekhyun really means when he says Sehun is his. Baekhyun thought he had made it clear, but Sehun is still hesitating.

“You won't be with me," Baekhyun says. "That's what I mean by 'alone.' You always said demons are selfish. Can't I just be selfish and want you?”

"I want you to want me," Sehun tells him. "I want you to be by my side. I don't want to be 'alone' without you."

Baekhyun's claws drop in his frustration. "I already offered myself! I want to be yours-- that's what I said."

Sehun's eyes are blazing. "I heard you."

"Are you just lying then?" Baekhyun snaps. "Making up excuses because the truth is you don't want to be stuck with someone who was your Tamer? I won't be your Tamer anymore. I'll just be yours. Do you not want me?"

"Stop it!" Sehun snarls. Baekhyun's jaw snaps shut. "I do want you. Don't think for even a second that I want anyone but you."

"Then why don't you believe me?" Baekhyun shouts. "Why won't you let me have you?"

"You have to--"

"I will be yours," Baekhyun cuts his demon off. "I will be yours as much as you are mine. As soon as this is over."

"And when this ends?" Sehun asks. "When this ends and you're seen as a hero for this plane? You'll be welcomed here. You will be seen as more human than demon, and that’s what you’ve wanted since I met you." That might be true, but the idea of staying on the Earth plane isn't enticing the way it would have been during Baekhyun's days as a Watcher. He became a Tamer thinking it would get him recognition, thinking it would keep the Lord Tamer from wanting him dead. Neither of those reasons proved true, and Baekhyun has long since learned the truth: the human plane wants nothing to do with a half-demon.

"I have no place here," Baekhyun breathes, stepping in close to Sehun and twisting his hands in his shirt. The soft silk seems to slide from his grasp just as Sehun is slipping away from him now. "But I have a place with you." He leans up, tilting his head back, showing Sehun trust as much as he's showing him want. Sehun turns his face away, staring off towards the door. His hands remain stubbornly at his sides. The blood exchange wails, mournful keening that Baekhyun latches onto in an attempt to make Sehun believe him, in an attempt to keep the tears at bay.

He's still a half-demon, and losing control of himself here won't do any good for him or for the state of Joonmyun's lab.

He lets go of Sehun's shirt. "What are you afraid of?" he asks, voice nothing more than a whisper.

"Losing you," Sehun answers simply. "Taking you in completely and then coming up with empty promises."

“I’m not make empty promises,” Baekhyun swears. “That won’t happen.”

Sehun frowns. “We don’t know that. We have no idea what will happen when our planes split and Night Hunt ends. Will I lose you then?” Baekhyun swallows. He wants to say no; he wants to say that Sehun won’t lose him, but he doesn’t know the answer to Sehun’s question.

"That won't happen," Baekhyun promises again weakly, a bit stubbornly, but Sehun just holds out his hand.

"I'd like to go back to my court now," Sehun says. "I have to prepare the for Night Hunt, and I--" He looks at Baekhyun, eyes tracing out the lines of his face. "I have to think about this." Baekhyun wants to protest; he finally called Sehun to him and already the demon wants to leave? But it's best if he trusts Sehun now and and does as he asks. He can call for him later when both of them are more certain of what they want.

"I might not see you until Night Hunt," Baekhyun murmurs, slashing his claws across Sehun's arm. The demon prince's gate flares and expands quickly as if it's trying to reach for Baekhyun too.

"I'll protect you," Sehun says. "I promise." Baekhyun believes him; Sehun has kept his promises so far. Now, he just needs Sehun to see that every time Baekhyun has promised himself to the demon prince, he meant it just as much.

“If you protect me and I protect you, you won’t lose me,” Baekhyun tries. Sehun reaches out, tracing a finger from the corner of Baekhyun’s jaw to his chin.

 _Don’t leave me,_ Sehun’s touch seems to beg, and Baekhyun reaches for him just as he slips out of reach. _Don’t go,_ he wants to order his demon, but that would be a Tamer speaking to a demon, and that’s not the relationship that he wants with Sehun. Not anymore.

" _Leave, Prince Sehun,_ " Baekhyun commands. Disgust twists in his gut at the way the demon prince obeys because it is required of him. Baekhyun’s father told him that he could never love someone who gives him orders as a prince. Sehun, too, is a prince, and Baekhyun’s commanding words ring hollow and empty as Sehun fades from his sight.

***

The initial separation from Sehun when Baekhyun left the Hell plane hurt; it ached in a way that Baekhyun attributed to the lack of miasma, the lack of physical proximity. This time, he feels as if his heart has been stolen away, taken back to the hell plane where he wants to be without him. His mind is a mess of Sehun’s apologies, the blood exchange still thrumming between them with confessions of want still ringing in Baekhyun’s ears.

Before Sehun, Baekhyun thought he understood himself. He could ignore the demon princes tamed to be under the Lord Tamer’s control despite their taunts and insistences about Baekhyun being more demon than human. He could ignore how much it hurt him to pretend he wasn’t interested in the taste of a human soul, how much it hurt him to pretend he didn’t want to dance in the hellfire lining the streets during Night Hunt. He had his Watcher’s uniform as a sort of shield, a small fragment of proof that he was indeed more human than demon.

The moment he tamed Sehun and took more demon blood into himself, his body stopped fighting itself for control. He should have known then that his demon side had won; he should have known that he could never have stepped away from his demon half anyway.

Now, with the words that he wants to be a demon said out loud, with the words that he wants to be at Sehun’s side as his Eternity no longer a secret wish he’d kept to himself, he’s struck with the clarity of how true his words are.

He doesn’t close off his connection to Sehun the way he did the first time they were separated by the veil between their planes. He doesn’t need to-- he trusts Sehun implicitly. If his demon hears his thoughts, if Sehun _listens_ to Baekhyun’s thoughts, then maybe he’ll know how much Baekhyun wants to be by Sehun’s side forever. He knows Sehun has his fears, but Baekhyun is struggling to understand them when so much _want_ is thrumming through his veins. 

Sehun’s markings on Baekhyun’s skin flash.

Baekhyun collapses back on his bed. The sheets feel too cold with Sehun’s absence, and they take so long to warm against his skin without Sehun and the eternal hellfire he carries with him lying alongside Baekhyun. He’s tired and frustrated, throat sore from the dry air and unable to relax with the constant bustle of preparations for the upcoming Night Hunt. He feels on edge, almost like he’s lost control of himself again when he can feel Sehun lurking at the edges of his consciousness but he’s not physically able to see him, let alone touch him. Even in Baekhyun’s head, if he reaches out into the blood exchange for Sehun, there is no calm to be found.

Sehun is too busy preparing his court for a fight he’s trying his best to ensure they’ll win to send Baekhyun the calm he seeks. He’s alone on the human plane, forced almost into hiding now that the Lord Tamer has fully revoked his protection of Baekhyun. He’s still a liability to Gatewatchers, and Baekhyun can almost smell the desire to kill him and save themselves that swims in the minds of the Tamers he sees in the hallway.

He’s certain they only hold back because they know which demon he calls his, and Baekhyun bares his fangs at them when he passes, no longer caring to keep up the facade. 

Baekhyun sighs, letting his fangs drop in an effort to relief some of the tired aching in his jaw. He’s been in and out of pre-dawn meetings with the Second Tamer and the First Tamer’s son, making sure that they are prepared for this upcoming Night Hunt. With the Lord Tamer likely to try to kill Baekhyun again should he show his face in the Lord Tamer’s office, it’s impossible for Baekhyun to know what’s going on without going behind the First Tamer’s back. 

He dips his fingers into his pocket, running his thumb along the small vial filled with his father’s blood. Two demon courts wait at Baekhyun’s call: his father’s court and his demon’s court. Joonmyun had been relieved when Baekhyun showed him the vial of Prince Jongdae’s blood.

“With Prince Jongdae on our side,” he had said, holding up the vial and tilting it under the florescent lighting in his lab. “We can defeat the Demon King.” It was Jimin who had reached out immediately and snatched the vial from Joonmyun’s hold, pressing it back into Baekhyun’s hands. His eyes were narrowed.

“My prince cannot kill King Lu Han,” Jimin had told them, voice a near snarl towards Joonmyun at touching the blood of his prince without permission. “He will come on Night Hunt to protect his son. My prince’s court will stand to fight the traitors of our plane.”

Baekhyun tightens his grip around the vial. It’s a simple plan that Gatewatchers has developed-- kill Queen Krystal and allow the Lord Tamer to tame the Demon King, keeping him under control so that Night Hunt will no longer be the terror is has been for centuries. The Second Tamer, Kyungsoo, Taehyung and Baekhyun all disagree with that official plan. The Lord Tamer still does not wish for Night Hunt to end; all of them know it needs to. According to Joonmyun’s hypothesizing and Jimin’s information relayed through Prince Jongdae, King Lu Han must be returned to the Hell plane without him being tamed by the Lord Tamer or controlled by Queen Krystal. For this small group hiding underneath the Lord Tamer’s nose, that is their objective. 

Baekhyun’s plan is much simpler: he is going to fight at Sehun’s side this Night Hunt, and whatever Sehun decides is the best course of action to repair the veil torn between the two planes is what Baekhyun will follow. He hopes the others will follow his lead. This is the hell plane’s war before it is their war; it was the First Tamer who pulled them into this mess when he stole the Demon King’s heart. The demon princes are the ones who should be standing in command of this battle. The Second Tamer told Baekhyun after this morning’s meeting that the Lord Tamer expects Baekhyun to fight under his command or face the punishment he has been avoiding since he tamed Sehun. Baekhyun isn’t worried about that; he doesn’t have any plans to return to Gatewatchers once this Night Hunt ends. As he told Sehun, he doesn’t have a place here.

Nor does he want one.

The energy in the air that comes with the approach of Night Hunt is starting to grate against Baekhyun’s nerves, setting him on edge s he thinks about the end of Night Hunt snapping the bond between all Tamers and demons, snapping the bond between him and Sehun.

Baekhyun rolls over, burying his face in his pillow as the markings on his back burn. His claws snag on the sheets, and he groans. He misses Night Hunt on the Hell plane where he didn’t experience the dull ache of his fangs threatening to drop and the burn on his back from his marking, where the opening gates did not call to him the way they do on the human plane. Here it is if his body is being torn into two, and it _hurts._

His skin itches, the blood exchange cooing the prelude to a violent concerto, and Baekhyun flings himself off his bed and jams his feet into his boots. He needs to spar, to feel the the rush of a fight, to feel anything besides this inability to escape the madness coiling in his stomach at Night Hunt approaches. He doesn’t bother with his jacket as he scrambles out of the door. The jacket screams Tamer, and Baekhyun doesn’t want the name of Tamer as it relates to Sehun.

The air in the hallway is chilly, and Baekhyun misses the comfortable heat of hellfire. Summer in Chicago does its best to recreate the heat of the Hell plane and its two suns, but it’s not nearly as welcoming. The air conditioning in Gatewatchers Headquarters sends a shiver through Baekhyun, piercing through the thin material of his t-shirt as if punishing him for denying his position as a Tamer here.

Baekhyun rounds the corner to pound on Taehyung's door.

There's shuffle and a shout of surprise from inside followed by a _thunk!_ and a few expletives before the door opens to reveal Taehyung struggling to kick a pair of underwear off of his foot and an overturned laundry basket behind him.

Taehyung jerks his thumb back at the trail of laundry. "Shouldn't have left it in the entryway," he says with a grin. "You look frazzled. What's up?"

Baekhyun blinks, Taehyung's bright energy a sudden relief from the pain he's been fighting off. He catches himself starting to smile too.

"Your fangs are wicked sharp, has anyone ever told you?" Taehyung asks, jabbing at Baekhyun's shoulder with a finger. He flings his door wide open and beckons Baekhyun inside, leaning down as he leads the way in to pick up his scattered clothes. 

"No," Baekhyun answers. "No one's ever bothered to talk to me long enough to tell me that."

Taehyung hums, tossing the clothes into the basket and picking it up to drop it on his counter. Baekhyun, were he a betting man, would bet that Taehyung will knock it over again in his rush to get food or something later. He's still smiling fondly at the thought, and Taehyung fixes him with a curious stare. 

"So are you gonna tell me what's up or are you going to keep staring at me like that because I like you happy but you continuously smiling is starting to freak me out, not gonna lie." Taehyung leans on the laundry basket, nearly tipping it over again. Baekhyun rolls his eyes at his friend's clumsiness.

"I came to ask if you wouldn't mind sparing with me for a bit?" He gestures back out the door to the gym. "With Night Hunt, I'm a bit, well--"

Taehyung practically flings himself across the room to grab his boots and jacket. "Yes!" he almost yells. "Obviously I've been waiting for the day you actually come to me when you've got a problem, and yes! Sparring! Okay." Baekhyun barely even gets a moment to tell Taehyung he appreciates everything the other Tamer has done for him over the years -- bothering to befriend him to start -- before Taehyung is tugging him down the hallway towards the gym.

"Thanks aren't necessary," he says, winking. "I _want_ to."

Baekhyun can't help himself; he throws an arm around Taehyung's neck, tripping them both up as they scurry towards the gym.

The huge room isn't empty like Baekhyun, one stray Watcher doing his best to give a practice dummy a concussion in the corner. He glares over that way for a second, but Taehyung pulls him immediately over towards the sparring mat.

"Ignore him, yeah?" Taehyung suggests, all but shoving Baekhyun into the ring. "He'll be lucky to pick up a few moves from us." He grins again, and his blunt teeth glint with a bit of happiness and a lot of dangerous promise. Baekhyun has seen Taehyung fight many times, has sparred with him just as many times, and even if his friend is a complete goof, he's got an eye for battle, a sense of precognition towards what his opponent will do.

Unfortunately for Taehyung, Baekhyun is better.

"Call out your demon," Baekhyun suggests. "Just in case." Taehyung rolls his eyes, but he holds out a hand towards Baekhyun. Baekhyun's stares at him. Taehyung shrugs.

"What?" he questions. "I trust you." Baekhyun swallows and carefully drags the tip of his index claw over Jimin's markings where they concentrate on Taehyung's palm. Blood wells in a thin line over Taehyung's skin.

"Jimin," Taehyung sing-songs, turning his hand over. A single drop of red hits the mat. " _Come!_ "

Maybe it's because Baekhyun is on the edge of cracking with Night Hunt around the corner or maybe it's because Jimin is on edge with his Tamer preparing to step into a fight, and maybe it's because Jimin has always disliked Baekhyun and regarded him as a threat to Taehyung, but Jimin bursts through the gates, claws out. He crashes into Baekhyun, and they roll back together, teeth bared.

"Oh, fucking hell, Jimin, come on!" Taehyung whines as Jimin . "I told you--!"

Jimin jumps off of Baekhyun with a bright grin that almost mirrors Taehyung's usual happy expression. "I know, I know," he says. "My prince asked me to do that."

Baekhyun's jaw drops. Taehyung bursts into giggles.

"He asked me to keep test you," Jimin continues. His fangs glint. "You failed." Baekhyun snarls at him.

"Okay," Taehyung cuts in, bent over laughing and pointing at Baekhyun. "I like your dad." Baekhyun suppresses a growl in the back of his throat. Tampering it, pressing the emotion down, reminds Baekhyun of how much his body is itching to release the pent up need to move, to do something, to ignore the aches that come with Night Hunt's arrival.

"Are we sparring or not?" he asks. It's like flicking a light switch-- the sudden change that comes over Taehyung. He's still excited, but his energy is focused. Even with a wide smile still plastered on his face, he looks dangerous, maybe a bit deranged. He looks demonic in his own right, and Jimin looks pleased.

"Jimin," Taehyung commands. "Watch Baekhyun. Make sure he doesn't kill me."

Baekhyun's fangs curls over his bottom lip. "Do you think I'm going to?"

Taehyung smirks. "This close to Night Hunt?" Baekhyun flexes his fingers, and Taehyung draws out his knife. Jimin grumbles something about sparring versus actual fighting, and Taehyung blows him a kiss.

"I won't hold back then," Baekhyun warns, and Taehyung slips into his stance, knife held horizontally across his body.

"I don't expect you to," he says. "This is for you, remember?" His eyes don't leave Baekhyun's face as he angles himself to either attack or defend as needed. "Jimin, call it."

Time clicks in an easy one, two, three; Baekhyun breathes, and the blood exchange pings as Sehun reaches out in interest at Baekhyun's sudden focused demeanor. Baekhyun draws on Sehun's power, feels the burn of hellfire through him, the pain of his marks burning. He can almost taste the miasma like this, and Jimin's voice echoes in his ears like the din of fire cracking over pavement.

"Fight!"

Baekhyun doesn't hesitate. He leaps forward, left leg extended. Taehyung blocks him easily, pressing up against Baekhyun as his foot makes contact with Taehyung's forearm. Taehyung slashes his knife up, the blade searing across the back of Baekhyun's thigh, sharp edge slicing easily through his pants.

Baekhyun arches back from Taehyung throwing him off, hands hitting the mat first. He rolls over his shoulder before springing back up, claws extended first this time, and Taehyung ducks under his attack.

"Why do Tamers--" he questions, drawing his knee up. "Only get a knife while you have ten claws?!" Baekhyun drops back onto the mat, avoiding Taehyung's knee, and sweeps his arm out, knocking it across Taehyung's ankle.

The Tamer stumbles back, and Baekhyun takes the moment to kick his legs up. His stomach muscles contract as his heels drive into Taehyung’s chest. Taehyung falls back, rolling over his shoulder. Baekhyun jumps back to his feet just as Taehyung runs forward again. He sidesteps just in time to avoid Taehyung's punch. His fist grazes just fast Baekhyun’s shoulder. The slight impact burns against his skin, and he grins against the pain. He throws his hand out, grabbing Taehyung’s wrist. Taehyung gasps, leaning back to pull Baekhyun off balance. Baekhyun just sits deeper into his base stance and yanks Taehyung in against him to smash his elbow across his friend’s jaw.

Taehyung's head snaps to the side. His body twists with him. He hits the ground and rolls away. Baekhyun takes a step back. He could dive in again, but Taehyung has positioned himself so that any attack Baekhyun makes will be met with Taehyung’s boots in his gut or brusing his arms. Baekhyun breathes in, ignoring the scratch of the bland air across his throat, and waits. 

Taehyung lies prone for a moment, and the tension in the room is ice against Baekhyun’s skin. Taehyung glances up at Jimin waiting on the sidelines of the sparring mat, and Baekhyun jolts, letting out a snarl and shifting into a defensive stance.

There’s a slight screech just behind him, and Baekhyun whirls. The Watcher from earlier is staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. Baekhyun curls his lip back a littler further, and the Watcher scrambles away towards the gym exit. 

A flash flares in the corner of Baekhyun’s vision. Taehyung crashes into Baekhyun’s back, and they roll together across the mat, pushing and shoving to try to gain the upperhand. Jimin’s markings on Taehyung’s arm are pulsing, the color bright off of his fierce grin.

Baekhyun’s back hits the ground, and he shows his claws, thrusting his arm out. Taehyung leans back to avoid the hit, but Baekhyun surges up after him and pulls his hand back to himself, throwing his elbow out again. 

Taehyung goes sprawling back, stumbling to his feet and wiping the blood off his lips with the back of his hand.

“Hit harder next time, yeah?” he pants. Baekhyun dives forward, somersaulting across the ground. Taehyung’s eyes go wide at Baekhyun’s sudden appearance beneath him. Baekhyun’s legs tense, and he flings himself up. His knee drives hard into Taehyung’s stomach, and Taehyung freezes, chest heaving. 

It happens almost in slow motion: Taehyung’s gaze becomes unfocused; his knees buckle underneath him, dragging him to the ground. He collapses with a rush of breathe. The impact of his head hitting the ground knocks him out completely, and Baekhyun doesn’t even have a chance to step back before Jimin is screaming, slamming into Baekhyun’s side. His claws slash through Baekhyun’s stomach, and Baekhyun screams back at him as blood soaks through his t-shirt.

Baekhyun grabs Jimin’s wrist, and when Jimin slashes at him again, Baekhyun grabs his other hand and pulls him in hard, pulling hard on his right leg to slam a roundhouse into Jimin’s shoulder. His stomach screeches at the use of torn muscles, but Baekhyun ignores it. He can feel Sehun’s power coursing through him, stitching his skin back together. Jimin staggers back, crouching low to stand, protective, over Taehyung's prone form.

His fangs drop to his chin, tail lashing.

"Just a spar," he hisses, a reminder, an angry accusation. Baekhyun holds out his hands, letting Jimin watch as his black claws retract into nothing more than fingernails.

"He said not to hold back," he says. "I wouldn't insult him and not abide by his request."

"You're so demonic," Jimin snarls in response, but despite the tension in his muscles, he doesn't attack again. "You really--" He stops, slowly relaxing. His own claws retract, and his body curves to look at his Tamer instead of focusing his full attention on Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun sighs, glancing down at his shirt. The fabric is shredded and soaked in red. He tugs it over his head, using the unbloodied parts of the fabric to wipe his sweat from his forehead.

"I don't understand why my prince ever thought you would do better in the human plane," Jimin confesses. Baekhyun starts, gaping a bit at his father's duke.

"Your court was at war at the time," Baekhyun reminds his best friend's demon. "Prince Jongdae told me that he was still under attack even after the Old Demon Wars ended."

Jimin dips his head in acknowledgement of Baekhyun's words, but he doesn't respond immediately. Instead, he lowers himself to the ground and carefully pulls Taehyung's head into his lap, running his hands through his Tamer's hair. It's the gentlest display of affection Baekhyun has ever seen between the two of them.

"The fighting stopped maybe four years after you were born," Jimin tells him. "My prince wanted to send the Angel of Death to reclaim you after that, to bring you back to my prince's court, but Mistress Luna said you should make your own choice."

"My own choice?" Baekhyun asks. Jimin rolls his eyes.

"Keep up," he says with a vaguely annoyed curl of his upper lip. "You were half human and half demon. You belong in neither place unless you choose to belong there. That is what Mistress Luna argued." Jimin twists Taehyung's bangs around his fingers before soothing them back into place. His markings glow dimly, and the bruising on Taehyung's cheek is fading as they speak.

"Were," Baekhyun repeats, his voice soft. He _was_ a halfling, but what is he now?

"Have you chosen to belong somewhere?" Jimin asks.

 _Yes,_ Baekhyun thinks. "Not a where," Baekhyun answers. "To someone." Jimin regards him with hesitation written clearly on his face.

"You must belong somewhere," Jimin says slowly. "Prince Sehun belongs to his court, belongs to the Hell plane. If you belong to him, then you belong to those places as well." Baekhyun watches Jimin run a finger along Taehyung's jaw, watches the Tamer stir a bit. His cheeks are no longer colored or swollen from Baekhyun taking his elbows to them, and Baekhyun is grateful that Jimin cares enough for his Tamer's well-being to put his energy into healing him. Jimin's face is soft, his expression careful as he watches his Tamer, cradles his head as Taehyung returns to waking.

"Will you miss him?" Baekhyun questions as Taehyung slowly rouses from unconsciousness. He whimpers slightly, and Jimin shushes him, smoothing his fingers through the Tamer's hair again.

"We are friends now," Jimin answers without pause. "I will miss him, and I will miss the way he rewards me or the way he lets me touch him when I'm feeling lonely on this plane." Baekhyun tries hard to not let mental images of 'rewards' flood the front of his mind; Sehun smirks somewhere beyond the veil of their planes.

"But," Jimin continues. "I have always known this arrangement is temporary. He is a human, and he is my Tamer. He will never be for me what an Eternity would be. He won't live to see forever. He'll find someone to love, not just someone to care for. We work together because we understand each other, and we understand what our relationship is." Jimin stares hard at Baekhyun, and though he isn't asking any questions, isn't accusing Baekhyun of anything, Baekhyun feels as though Jimin is looking straight past his skin and into his thoughts. He feels as if Jimin knows that Baekhyun and Sehun have not decided what their relationship is; he feels as if Jimin knows what Baekhyun wants it to be.

"You know, if we manage to reclaim the Demon King and return his power to the Hell plane, Night Hunt will end?" Jimin asks. His question is rhetorical; Baekhyun has been in all the same discussions with Joonmyun that Jimin has. They've discussed all the same theories together, talked through every available option of how to return King Lu Han to the Hell plane and how to make sure his power falls into the right hands-- Sehun's hands.

Baekhyun simply nods.

"You're probably sick of hearing about my prince's thoughts and ideas," Jimin says. "I know I don't make them nearly as interesting as he does." Jimin shrugs. "I suppose that's the prince in him-- commanding attention." He shifts a bit, tugging Taehyung up so that he is mostly sitting up, head resting against Jimin's chest. Jimin braces his arms over his Tamer, and Taehyung appears to be smiling gently. Baekhyun is beginning to doubt he's even sleeping anymore. He's probably quietly listening, letting Jimin talk.

"But my prince says you're more demon than human biologically," Jimin explains. "When our planes snap back into place, when they go back to coexisting, codependency that demons and humans do not meddle in, all things of the Hell plane will be returned there. All things human will stay here."

"That's the goal, isn't it?" Baekhyun responds.

Jimin's lip curls back again. "Which plane will you be drawn to, Baekhyun?" he asks. "If you're more demon than human, won't you end up on the Hell plane? Or will you resist that and stay here as a human?" Baekhyun swallows. If his father is right and all pieces of demon nature are to return to the Hell plane, Baekhyun will quite literally be torn in half-- or slightly more than half of him will leave him.

"What do you want to happen?" Jimin prods, and Baekhyun is answering him before he's thought through the words.

"I want to be at Sehun's side," he replies. "I've got more demon blood than human blood. I've got Sehun's blood in me. But I don't want to be his Tamer."

"Were you ever?" Jimin interjects. "When I saw you two together on the Hell plane, you did not look at all like Tamer and demon."

"We have a blood exchange," Baekhyun insists. "An Eternity has no markings." He holds up his arm, shows off Sehun's markings where they loop around his skin, the black almost appearing like fresh paint under the gym lights.

"I asked you if you've chosen where you want to belong," Jimin reminds him. "Do you know where you want to belong?"

"Somewhere I can be myself," Baekhyun answers, the words coming easily to him. The blood exchange hums a little, and Sehun is reaching for him. Baekhyun reaches back easily.

"And if the human plane offers you that once this is over?" Jimin prompts. Baekhyun bites his lip. "The way I see it, theories included," Jimin murmurs. "You have two choices. A few years alone on this plane before the lack of miasma kills your demon side and, along with it, you, or an eternity, and if you want it, an Eternity, alongside Prince Sehun. I think the choice is obvious. You want him."

"I told him that," Baekhyun says.

"You have to be _sure,_ " Jimin continues. It's almost a repeat of what Sehun had said to Baekhyun, but this time Baekhyun knows the difference. Baekhyun wanting to belong to Sehun, wanting to be Sehun's Eternity without thinking of his personal outcomes, did not consider who he truly is, did not put weight on his own input in the relationship. An Eternity is also equality, two pieces of a puzzle fitting together forever to create one piece of forever. But Baekhyun who knows where he belongs, knows that he is the song of demon prince, whose humanity has been mostly taken over by his demon heritage and his immortality gained from days spent on the Hell plane, knows his importance in this world is nothing compared to his importance to Sehun-- that Baekhyun is who Sehun wants. And that Baekhyun is who Baekhyun is when he throws aside the dying piece of him that belonged to Gatewatchers.

Baekhyun is himself; he no longer needs the human masks that kept him rooted to this plane for years.

Jimin is grinning at him.

"I'm sure," Baekhyun says.

"Don't talk to yourself," Taehyung whispers. "People will think you're crazy." Baekhyun can't help himself; he starts laughing.

"So you were awake," he says.

"Just listening to you figure out your life, princeling," Taehyung sing-songs, still reclining against Jimin's chest. "I'll miss you both." He reaches up and runs his fingers down the side of Jimin's face. Jimin flicks Taehyung's nose with his tail.

The words tear through Baekhyun. He will miss pieces of this plane: Taehyung and Kyungsoo and Joonmyun, but he can't stay here. Not because he can't, but because he's making a choice. He's choosing where he belongs.

"Do you want me to stay?" Baekhyun asks.

"I want you to be happy," Taehyung answers, opening his eyes. He immediately closes them again. "Fuck, that hurts. Wow, you really did not go light. Okay. Demon princeling."

"I am happy," Baekhyun tries. "Right now."

"Sure," Taehyung agrees. "But if Sehun were here, you'd be happier." Baekhyun doesn't refute that. "If you were with your family, you'd be happier," Taehyung continues. He grins in Baekhyun's direction, eyes curving up even pressed closed like they are. "Jimin," he adds. "You'll have to carry me. I'm momentarily blind." Jimin flicks his shoulder.

"I'm gonna kill him," Jimin says.

"No, you won't, Jiminnie," Taehyung murmurs. "You like him a lot." Jimin sputters, and Baekhyun blinks.

"I'll pretend I don't know?" he offers.

"Go rest," Jimin suggests, grumbling under breath even as Taehyung shakes with silent giggles. "Night Hunt is almost here."

"Right," Baekhyun agrees, nearly shaking will sudden exhaustion from the sparring and the elation of realizing that Sehun has wanted nothing more than for Baekhyun to be comfortable in himself. Choosing Sehun because Baekhyun hadn't known any other choice hadn't been the right answer, choosing his place in the Hell plane and his own well-being, choosing Sehun because he wants to and not because he feels there is no other option-- Baekhyun hopes that is what Sehun wants to hear.

The blood exchange sings happily, and Baekhyun ignores the slight burning of his marks as he wanders back towards his room to sleep.

When he wakes, it will be only a stretch of daylight before Night Hunt comes, before Queen Krystal makes her move and the First Tamer makes his. It will be only hours until the human plane's fate is decided, and it will be the last few hours before they all stand in the face of death. Baekhyun is scared, but he is also comforted in the fact that Sehun promised to protect him.

That is, if they don't all die in the process of restoring the two planes to their original state.

***

_Night. Two weeks of waiting. Two weeks of burning. Claws at his throat. Dry. Cold. But now, night._

_Lu Han loves night. Loves breaking through the shell of this human land to reach his own. Miasma is so delicious. Miasma is so much better than emptiness._

_Lu Han knows emptiness. Lu Han knows pain. Lu Han's chest is empty, but his heart still hurts. It's a funny thing, this sort of pain._

_Does that one, the one he loves, the one who must die, does he feel this pain too? Does he know pain like this? Does his chest hurt even with nothing there?_

_Lu Han stares at his arm, at the markings. There is another who wears these markings. That other gave someone else these markings. Now there are three who wear these markings. None of them are Minseok._

Minseok.

 _First Tamer. Lord Tamer. Hell reject. So many names. So little truth. He is not the First Tamer. He is not the Lord Tamer. He is not Hell reject. He is mine._ Mine.

_Lu Han scratches at the surface of the moon. The humans' earth has this floating rock in the sky. It looked like the sun of his home's nighttime sky. It does not burn like that though. It is rather cold and dead. Lu Han wants hellfire. Lu Han wants miasma. Lu Han wants to go home._

_But Lu Han cannot go home. Lu Han must watch for Minseok._

_Lu Han must protect Minseok. Lu Han must kill Minseok._

_Lu Han wants Minseok's blood; Minseok wants Lu Han's blood. But Minseok wants Lu Han's blood so he can control him, and Lu Han does not want to be controlled. No, no, no._

_So Minseok will die. And Lu Han will kill him. Lu Han will kill everyone. They trapped him here._

_They sent him here. They-- they is Minseok. They is not a they. They is a he. They is pain._

_Does Minseok feel pain? It's loss. Minseok tried to become a demon. If he becomes a demon, Lu Han can have an Eternity with him._

_But Minseok loves that human woman. He created that other human with her. Minseok does not love Lu Han. Why is Lu Han still in love with him, then? Lu Han does not feel love. Lu Han does not have heart. Lu Han cannot have a heart. Lu Han's chest is empty._

_So why does it hurt? He wants to be numb._

_It's getting darker. They're almost away from the sun. The gates are opening now. Lu Han can taste the miasma._

_Miasma is wonderful. Miasma. Lu Han needs miasma. That's why he does this. He is powerful. Lu Han is powerful. Lu Han keeps his power with him and reaches into his home plane. The human plane suffers. But never Minseok. Never Minseok._

_Maybe that is why Lu Han doesn't like the day. He can't make humans suffers in the day. But humans do not matter to Lu Han. Lu Han wants Minseok; he wants Minseok to suffer._

_Lu Han will kill Minseok._

Lu Han, my King. Lu Han, my first demon. King Lu Han, do you hear me?

_Hear me? Lu Han can hear himself. He can laugh. He barks out a laugh. It rings in his ears. Yes, Lu Han can hear me. Lu Han can also hear her voice. He knows this voice. He knows this feeling._

_Oh, he is being called. Lu Han has not been called in a long time. He was called when he Demon King. Lu Han is still Demon King. He just does not have a court anymore. Lu Han does not want a court anymore. Lu Han wants Minseok dead. Minseok hurt him. Minseok lied to him. Minseok said he loves him, but Minseok does not. Did not. Does it matter? He should die._

_There it is again. Her voice. The Queen voice. The yellow queen. The one who made him. Her voice. Queen Krystal, yes. Her. Lu Han hates her. He does not feel her sister. What was her name? Lu Han doesn't care. Krystal should not call him-- he does not matter. She and Jessica never mattered after Minseok._

_Nothing mattered after Minseok. Except his heart. Where is it? Lu Han cannot find it. His chest is empty. Still, his chest hurts. It has hurts for years. Lu Han does not know how many years._

_Queen Krystal calls again. Lu Han snarls. Lu Han has a very impressive snarl. Lu Han has very impressive power too. Lu Han is impressive. Or he was. Now Lu Han is a lonely, throneless king. Is Lu Han a mad king? He is probably mad._

_He wants miasma. He needs it. Miasma is wonderful. Miasma is what Minseok wants too. It makes him feel more demon. He is addicted. Lu Han has been watching him. Lu Han knows how it feels to miss miasma. Lu Han knows how it feels to miss his heart. But he feels something that is missing? That isn't right. Lu Han is mad. Lu Han should die. Minseok should die._

_They should die together. The pain will stop._

_Lu Han clicks his teeth together. His fangs scrape the bottom of his chin. Blood drips onto his hands. It does not taste good. Blood does not taste good. Miasma tastes good. Souls taste good, but demons do not need souls. Not directly. Do the new demons know that? Or are they twisted by the nights that Lu Han calls for the miasma?_

_What do they call it? Humans? Night Hunt._

_Minseok calls it Night Hunt._

_Minseok calls Lu Han 'my love.' He used to. He doesn't anymore. Now he just hides behind those princes. Lu Han could kill those princes. Lu Han does not want to. They did nothing to him. Minseok did._

_Minseok hurt Lu Han. So Lu Han is stuck here. On the silver rock that is not a sun. The moon. Lu Han does not like the moon. It's boring. It's been years. So many years on the moon. Humans came here once. Lu Han hid from them. They were not Minseok. Lu Han only cares about Minseok._

_He wants to eat his soul. Minseok should be punished. Oh, Lu Han can think of such creative punishments. Minseok. In chains. That would be good. Or better. Minseok split in two. Slowly. Tortured. Punished and dead. That's good too._

_Lu Han loved Minseok once._

_Minseok did not love him._

King Lu Han!

_Lu Han jolts. His name. That's his name. His title. That's Queen Krystal. Won't she stop talking? She won't stop. She keeps calling. Blood. Lu Han can smell blood. It's almost like his blood. Tug._

_Tug._

_Tug._

_There is a tugging feeling in Lu Han's chest. But Lu Han's chest is empty. What is this tugging? Is this a call? Lu Han has never called like this. Lu Han is the demon king. He has not been tamed. He will never be tamed._

_His brother said that too. But that halfling tamed him. His brother. Sehun._

_Lu Han has not seen Sehun in so long. Sehun is so powerful. His Tamer is too. Lu Han knows. Lu Han watches these things. Lu Han watched the boy grow up; his father was strong too. Is strong. Prince Jongdae is very strong. He could kill Lu Han once, but now he can't. Because he can't be King. Prince Jongdae does not want to be king._

_Besides, Lu Han is king._

_King Lu Han._

_The tug happens again. More blood. Stronger. The smell is overwhelming. The voice is grating. Queen Krystal is calling him. The world is going completely black. The taste of miasma is heavy on Lu Han's tongue. He loves miasma. Miasma is wonderful. Minseok is wonderful. Was wonderful. Minseok should die. Queen Krystal calls again. The world is black. The world is on fire._

_Lu Han loves hellfire. The miasma is stronger there. That queen will not stop talking. Her voice hurts. Hurts. Aches. Annoying._

_Lu Han stands. Is it over? This is the time? He hates this voice. Hates this voice so much. Minseok had a nice voice. The call is strong. Too strong. He can't not answer. He must answer. Demons are like that. That's_ his _blood. His blood. That queen cannot have his blood. She is awful. Awful._

She won't be quiet.

Lu Han peers down at the human plane. The fire is raging. The streets are blazing. The Tamers are fighting. The demons are fighting. Queen Krystal is calling.

Lu Han dives.

***

Months have passed since the last time Baekhyun watched this happen. It had looked so different on the Hell plane. The hellfire was a constant there, the sky darkening with black clouds and the ground suddenly littered with portals-- that is what Night Hunt was on the Hell plane. But Night Hunt on the Hell plane did not ache the way it does here. It did not screech through Baekhyun's body until he was wracked with pain. Night Hunt there was just another night; Night Hunt there was just a split between the two worlds.

Here, on the human plane, Night Hunt Hurts. It aches and rages through Baekhyun's mind and the streets. He had almost forgotten the whirring of the sirens, telling people to get inside, to stay away from the streets just as hellfire licked its way between the cracks in the veil that stretches between the human plane and the Hell plane. He had almost forgotten the terror of watching fire trace its tongues along the lines of everything, burning and laughing and cackling as it going on its merry way, pleased to watch the carnage unfold as demons and humans alike tear into each other.

They are not different after all, Watchers and Tamers and demons, Baekhyun thinks. Demons are only more aware of their horror where Tamers see their murdering and killing as saving their world. They are the Gatewatchers, the protectors of the human plane, but they are also the destroyers of the lives belonging to the Hell plane.

Baekhyun will not miss it here. Baekhyun will not miss the judgement and the challenge of trying to be human when Baekhyun is not solely human. Baekhyun will not miss constantly trying to prove himself worthy of life or constantly hiding from someone who cannot be convinced. This will be his last night here; he's sure of that.

The sirens change pitch, screaming warnings for the Watchers and Tamers, and Baekhyun watches as all around him, uniformed Watchers and Tamers spill into the streets, knives in hand. The air is warming up, yellow and red beginning to glow in the cracks of the sidewalk and along the lines of the gutters. The pavement almost looks melted from the heat waves.

Baekhyun can taste the miasma floating in the air, and he feels whole.

"Ready?" asks from beside him. Baekhyun glances sideways at Taehyung. His friend's Tamer crest flashes brightly in the streetlamp lights. Baekhyun's own jacket is still devoid of a crest; it suits him.

"For a fight?" Baekhyun asks. He bares his teeth, fangs glinting. "Always." Taehyung slings an arm over Baekhyun's shoulders.

"Ah, my little princeling," Taehyung coos. "It will be different without you around. I guess it will be different without demons around too." Baekhyun says nothing. Taehyung just shrugs, and his grip on Baekhyun tighten infinitesimally. Baekhyun leans into him.

"I'll miss you," Baekhyun admits.

"Yeah," Taehyung agrees. "But this is best. For everyone. I mean it." Baekhyun nods. 

"Thank you, Taehyung," he says. His best friend blinks, drawing back, lips forming a little 'o' of surprise.

"What is happening here?" Taehyung asks, leaning in. He pokes Baekhyun's nose, and Baekhyun snaps at his fingers.

"I mean it," Baekhyun echoes Taehyung's words, and Taehyung just grins.

"Don't mention it," he says. The air cracks, and the moon is bleeding. Hellfire bursts around them, lining the streets and singing its song of destruction as it flares up, cackling its greed to see the world blackened.

"Ready?" Baekhyun asks Taehyung this time, and Taehyung's knife whistles through the air before dragging across his skin.

"Jimin," he recites. " _Come!_ " His words echo across the street, more and more voices joining in, calling their demons to them. Gates open wherever a Tamer stands, demons rising to take their place beside their Tamers.

"I'm here," Jimin says when he steps free of his gate. He glances around and sighs in a bored fashion. "Can't believe you called me before the second half."

Taehyung holds up his hands. "Lord Tamer's orders," he says. "Big fight approaching, apparently." Jimin grins.

"Hell yeah there is." His fangs drop and glint in the hellfire light, and Baekhyun catches himself copying his expression.

"Are you going to call Sehun?" Taehyung asks. Baekhyun shakes his head.

"I will when I need to," he answers.

"And Prince Jongdae?" Taehyung prompts.

"When I--"

"Need to," Taehyung finishes. "Got it." He rocks back on his heels. Screeching fills the air, iron gates tearing through the fabric between planes of existence and demons screaming as they step out into the night. Taehyung places a hand on Baekhyun's shoulder. "Don't die, man." He says it almost like it's an order.

"You too," Baekhyun returns. He holds Taehyung's gaze for a moment, and then Taehyung nods and sprints off, Jimin close on his heels. They're running looking for a fight. Baekhyun will wait for it to come to him. He steps in close to the hellfire. He missed this warmth. The blood exchange starts singing.

 _Soon,_ Baekhyun promises.

 _I'm ready,_ Sehun's thoughts echo in Baekhyun's mind. He smiles, letting his fangs drop and his claws extend. 

_Keep your demons close,_ Baekhyun warns Sehun. We don't need more chaos up here. Sehun's agreement whispers through Baekhyun's ears. When Queen Krystal makes appears with her court, Sehun's court will be there to fight them off. With any luck, Prince Jongdae's court will be there to help. Baekhyun reaches into his pocket, checking that the vial of his father's blood is still there. He keeps smiling when he closes his hand around it. So far nothing has gone wrong. 

Only a second later, his smile turns to a snarl as a low-level throws herself across the flames towards him.

"Human!" She screams. Baekhyun pivots, lashing out and tearing through her throat. The low-level's body slams into the brick of the building behind Baekhyun, and she disintegrates before her carcass can fall to the cement.

"Demon," he returns, flicking bits of esophagus off his fingers. He feels feral, alive. He can't believe he used to lock this feeling away and hide during Night Hunt. He loves to fight; he craves it like demons do.

Baekhyun's a little bit too demon, anyway.

He turns his gaze on Watchers sending back low-level after low-level, searching for demons to make theirs. It's pointless if Night Hunt is about to end, but that's what they're trained to do. Besides, hopefully having a demon beside them will mean they can fight and live longer during the second half of this.

Baekhyun hasn't seen or heard anything of King Lu Han yet, and Queen Krystal has yet to make her appearance. What is she waiting for?

A group of three demons, two mid-levels and one low-level, traipse through the hellfire to where Baekhyun is standing. They lick their lips.

"Watcher?" one asks. Baekhyun doesn't move.

"Tamer?" another continues.

"Eat his soul!" the low-level cries, and the three surge forward together. Baekhyun ducks under their joint attack, turning on his heel to grab the back of the low-level's neck. The two mid-levels stare as he digs his claws into the low-level's shoulder and scalp and pulls. Dark demon blood sprays in the two-middle levels' faces, and Baekhyun drops the body of their friend at their feet.

"Sorry," he says, smirking. Their eyes are stuck on his fangs, and Baekhyun wants to laugh.

"You're--!" one, the female one, starts, but Baekhyun is already leaping forward. He barrels into the mid-level, smashing his fist into its neck and grabbing its shoulder with his other hand. The impact jarrs the bones in his wrist. Baekhyun swings back around, hurtling the mid-level into the other as she leaps for him. Her claws pierce through her friend's back, and he screams. His screams turn into hacking coughing, blood dribbling past his lips. The mid-level yanks her claws from the other's back, and he collapses. 

"The halfling," Baekhyun finishes for her. "That's me."

She snarls. "Die!" She holds out her claws and prepares to jump, but Baekhyun slashes his own claws down his wrist.

" _Sehun!_ " Baekhyun requests more than he orders, and Sehun's gate whirls under his feet. The mid-level jumps for him, but Baekhyun doesn't move. He doesn't have to. Sehun is there, tearing through the mid-level with nothing more than an annoyed twitch of his tail.

"You called me for that?" he asks.

"Drama," Baekhyun replies. Sehun sighs at him, and Baekhyun just grins, fangs and all. "I would rather had you by my side now than later," he admits. "In case something happens."

Sehun looks around. "I can't feel my brother yet. Or Queen Krystal."

"Me neither," Baekhyun says. "No one has seen them, I don't think. They'll probably sound the sirens again if they do. So for now, let's just--"

"Fight?" Sehun suggests. He looks positively wicked, bare-chested the way he was the first night Baekhyun saw him, the night Baekhyun Tamed him. His silver hair falls in his eyes, but it can't cover the dark gleam of blood lust. Baekhyun thinks he probably looks about the same right now.

"Yes," he agrees, voice low. He leads the way, dragging Sehun around the few city blocks around Millennium Park. Chicago isn't like Hell; it doesn't have the open plains and spaces for large-scale battles, yet this is their battleground. This is easy, fighting together. Of course, low-levels and unranked mid-levels could never present a challenge for Baekhyun and Sehun together. Every turn is a new kill, a new gate locked by blood dripping from Baekhyun's fingers.

The miasma spins in the air, dancing around them, and Baekhyun breathes it in, savouring the taste of it. It's been so long since he's gotten the chance to breathe so easily, and Sehun laughs at him as they dive through another group of mid-levels, coming out with bloody hands and clothes.

They make their way back towards the park at Midnight approaches, and that's when Sehun suddenly grabs for Baekhyun, leaning on him.

"Sehun?" Baekhyun murmurs, a bit frantic. "Sehun, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sehun responds, voice edging on a growl. "I just. I can feel him."

"The Demon King?" Baekhyun twists to face his demon, linking their hands to share his energy.

"I'm fine," Sehun repeats. "I forgot how strong he is." Baekhyun nods, walking forward again and leading Sehun towards where the First Tamer, Second Tamer, Kyungsoo, and Taehyung should be waiting. A few other high-level Tamers that Baekhyun has never been allowed to meet should be there too. He wonders offhandedly if Jeongguk is out here fighting with his demon, if Yoongi ever realized how cruel his queen truly is. Baekhyun tries not to think about Sehun's comment on King Lu Han's strength. They're about to face him, and just the mention of his presence in the air had almost bowled Sehun over.

Baekhyun tries very hard not to worry as they step into the park, but he's not doing a very good job.

Around them, the din of the fighting that accompanies Night Hunt is beginning to quiet down, and Baekhyun's Gatewatchers standard phone beeps a warning. Fifteen minutes until midnight.

"Baekhyun!" Taehyung calls out as they step into view. Jimin stands beside him, half of his face streaked with blood. He looks far more vicious like this than Baekhyun has ever seen him. Even when he attacked Yixing to save Baekhyun's life he didn't look nearly as deadly. His fangs are fully out.

"Come on," Baekhyun whispers, gesturing to Sehun. Taehyung and Jimin walk beside them, flanking them as they walk up to the Lord Tamer. Joonmyun shifts just barely to place himself mostly between the Lord Tamer and Baekhyun.

"Baekhyun," the First Tamer says with hardly concealed disdain.

"Lord Tamer," Baekhyun responds in the same manner.

"Are you fighting with us or against us?" the Lord Tamer asks. Baekhyun tightens his grip on Sehun's hand, and the action does not go unnoticed by the Lord Tamer.

"I'm fighting for restoration," Baekhyun answers. "I fight with Prince Sehun." The Lord Tamer's hand shifts toward his knife.

Sehun steps in. "It's time for this to end, Hell reject," he says. "The demons you and your company have tamed will all be returning to the Hell plane at the end of this." He lowers his voice. "And they will all be free and never again seen on this plane."

The First Tamer actually snarls at that. "You can't decide that," he hisses.

"I can," Sehun replies.

"On your own authority?" the Lord Tamer mocks.

"On mine," Joonmyun cuts in. "This has to stop, Minseok. It's been long enough. Let them have their king. Let this all _end._ "

"Mine as well," Kyungsoo adds. "I've already said my goodbyes to my demons. I think they will be just fine in their home without me calling for them."

"Kyungsoo," the Lord Tamer starts.

"Me too," Taehyung adds, cutting off the Lord Tamer's threat. Beside him, Jimin nods solemnly.

A crack, the ground splitting and tearing as a vortex of hellfire rises just across the park from them, grabs all of their attention. It roars through any response the Lord Tamer may have made, but his anger is still strong in the air.

"Call your demons," Joonmyun orders, and Kyungsoo does immediately. It's a slow moment before Minseok does as well. Four gates open around them, and Irene and Seulgi, and Chanyeol and Kai rise from them.

Joonmyun sends a questioning stare at the Lord Tamer. "Only these two?" he asks.

"I can call more if I need more," the Lord Tamer responds. Joonmyun nods, holding out his hand. The First Tamer nods, and Chanyeol steps to the Second Tamer's side immediately with a murmured, "Yes, Tamer."

The hellfire clears, and in the midst of where it was, stands Queen Krystal, gates opening and clanging all around her as her court rises to join her. Held at her side is a high-level demon, his tail sweeping the heels of his feet as he stares at the world around him. Krystal begins chanting, repeating over and over the words of a blood exchange ritual and the calling ritual. Baekhyun feels Sehun's horror twisting in his chest, and he struggles to swallow down the bile rising in his throat as he reaches through the blood exchange for Sehun's mind.

"A new prince?" Seulgi breathes.

"He looks just like you," Irene gasps next to her. "My prince?" Baekhyun looks to Sehun, and the demon prince is shaking his head, rage drawn into the expression twisted on his face.

"She's disgusting," he snarls, and Baekhyun grabs his arm.

"What is it?" the Lord Tamer demands. A tear rolls down Sehun's cheek, and the mess of images in his mind clears for a second, just long enough for Baekhyun to understand.

"Oh," he says.

"She's made another prince," Sehun whispers. "A prince with the same blood as my brother and me."

It's Kai who finishes the explanation. "She can call him then," he says, voice darkening. "The Demon King. She'll call him through that prince's blood." Krystal keeps chanting, and her court cheers loudly around her.

"It's going to take a lot of blood," Chanyeol says. Krystal repeats the words of the rituals again, and Chanyeol repeats, "A lot." Krystal's yellow magic darts out; a blade of yellow slices clean through the middle of the new prince.

Silence. Baekhyun does not even dare to blink.

The prince peels apart, two halves falling to the side, blood soaking into the ground. Krystal kneels, pressing her hands flat into the flood as she yells out the calling rituals again. The court starts cheering, screaming, war cries ringing out as the demons turn to the moon, watching.

A shadow falls over them all, and the film of miasma covering the moon, making it bleed, bursts. It falls around them, swirling thickly through the air as a figure descends. It appears lit on fire, crashing through the atmosphere, dislodging the stars and moon itself.

Sehun leans on Baekhyun again. "He's here," he whispers.

The figure lands hard on his feet, robes flaring out around him as the pavement cracks with his landing. The moon shines silver again, radiating off of everything and glinting in the figure's nearly white hair. Queen Krystal smiles widely, and Baekhyun stares at the figure where he stands.

So this, he realizes, holding tight onto Sehun, is the Demon King.

"King Lu Han," Krystal greets, stepping forward towards the demon. He does not move except for the long swish of his tail across the ground.

"Lu Han," the Lord Tamer murmurs behind Baekhyun. The want in his voice is clear, but it is not a want of longing. It is one of greed. Baekhyun's skin crawls with the sound. The Demon King's head snaps up, and his face focuses in their direction.

Gatewatchers stands collectively frozen.

"That's him?" Baekhyun whispers to Sehun. His demon nods slowly.

"That's him," he confirms. Baekhyun almost can't believe it. King Lu Han is not nearly as tall as Sehun, his face almost too pretty for the power he possesses. Still, Baekhyun can feel it radiating off of him, the power, can see the madness dragging the Demon King deeper and deeper reflected in his black eyes.

"My King," Krystal is saying. "It's been so long since your people have seen you. Since we have seen you. Since I have seen you." The Demon King does not react. "We want your help. We need your help, King Lu Han. Come, stand at my side. Be my demon king again as you were created to be. You remember me, don't you? Your Queen. The Hell Queen who stands beside you, who called you back from your exile." She bows a bit. "With you here, so close, we can hold the gates open forever--" Baekhyun glances around him, and true enough, every gate is locked open. Demons crawl through them ceaselessly.

"Call your court," Baekhyun whispers to Sehun. "Now. We need them now." Sehun nods, and Baekhyun hears his call inside his own head. His flexes his fingers, claws extending and retracting as he does.

"--and we will feast always on the souls of humans!" Krystal says. Still the Demon King continues to stare towards the Lord Tamer, and Baekhyun shifts onto the balls of his feet, preparing to move at a second's notice. "My king, that is the dream of all--!"

Baekhyun hardly sees King Lu Han move before he sees his hand squeezed tightly around Queen Krystal's neck. Her eyes bulge, and King Lu Han sinks his claws into her chest and _tears._ The queen's heart and head splatter on the ground before her body falls.

"Shut up," the Demon King sneers.

Time freezes for a moment, a split second before the panic sets.

"Shit," Chanyeol breathes.

"Well, Lord Tamer," Taehyung says, his voice shaking. "You sure know how to pick 'em."

The Demon King turns his face towards the sky and screams. Hellfire bursts up from the gates, covering the world around them in a orange-red glow. Heat sears through the air, and the red miasma spins wildly. Sehun grabs onto Baekhyun, pulling him in close to his side.

It's now or never, Baekhyun thinks.

"When this is over," Baekhyun starts. "I'm returning to Hell." Sehun stiffens next to him, his eyes still focused on his brother. "I'm returning to Hell with you. If you'll have me."

"Baekhyun," Sehun murmurs, quiet, unsure, but definitely less reserved than he was the first time Baekhyun asked. It gives Baekhyun the courage to push forward.

"At least we can be rid of this blood exchange," he says. "Even if we die, at least we can say that we tried. At least then we will have felt what this bond between us truly is. Then, at least, if one of us dies, the other can live. We don't know what will happen with our blood exchange, and Sehun--" Baekhyun turns to face his demon. "Sehun, I don't want you to even be harmed."

Sehun swallows, and he ducks his head. In a low murmur, too low for the others to hear even as if vibrates through Baekhyun's body, Sehun gives his response.

"I don't want to live without you, Baekhyun."

"But this way," Baekhyun presses on. "If you die, at least then I won’t have to wear these marks that claim I own you as my demon, like you're my slave. Instead, you’ll have been mine, and I'll have been yours. And I can properly show everyone how much I loved you."

It's the first time Baekhyun has said those words or even through them, but they ring free of his heart anyway. "I want to fight this battle, even if it's our last, at your side because I want to be there. Not because I'm your Tamer and I have to be there."

It's slow, the hellfire dancing around them, King Luhan screaming in the distance as if he's trying to shatter the earth with his voice. Baekhyun looks up at Sehun, standing still, waiting. Sehun reaches for him, and he pauses, eyes wanting but giving Baekhyun one last chance.

"Kiss me," he orders, or maybe he begs. Still, the desire is the same. His blood rushes with his demon's proximity. Sehun stares at him, his hands only a hairsbreadth from Baekhyun waist. He's hesitating, the blood exchange swinging back and forth between them, their markings lighting up in an offbeat pulse.

"Baekhyun," Sehun whispers. Baekhyun trembles, body wracked with how much he _needs_ , with how much he _wants_ , with who Sehun is and how much he _feels_ for him.

"Kiss me," he orders again, voice almost a full out plea this time. "Sehun--" 

A beat.

Sehun kisses him, wrapping his arms, his power, around Baekhyun, moaning against Baekhyun's lips. Baekhyun clings to him, feels the pulse of Sehun's markings align with his own, and through it all, feels a deep want flare in his chest, feels it race through his veins until he can feel nothing but Sehun, can think of nothing but Sehun, forgets everything around him and simply exists alongside Sehun.

"Keep me," he breathes against Sehun's lips, and the blood exchange screeches to a halt.

"Yes," Sehun whispers, and he kisses Baekhyun harder, pressing his fingers into Baekhyun's markings. It roars to life between them, a song, but it's not like the blood exchange at all. It's a completely new tune, a raw, powerful line of melody that beats along in the shape of their hearts, and their markings light up blue, glowing bright and strong, never winking out or dimming for even a moment. Baekhyun tastes salt and hellfire, tastes the passion that Sehun feels for him, and he presses himself fully against his demon.

"Don't die," he hears himself saying. "Don't leave me."

"I won't," Sehun promises. Sehun keeps his promises. "I won't let you die, either." His arms slowly loosen from around Baekhyun, and Baekhyun runs his fingers along Sehun's jaw. His arm is blank again, and Sehun's shoulder is no longer decorated with Baekhyun's wing. The burn along his back tells him both wings are impressed on his skin once again.

Baekhyun's body is still shaking as he steps back from Sehun, blinking away the afterimages of the blue glow, but this time the shaking is from the power surging through him more intensely than it ever had before.

An Eternity. So this is what that really feels like.

"Whoa," breathes from behind Baekhyun, and he turns to see Taehyung showing off a full-faced grin. "Congrats, but also, it's go time."

Baekhyun whirls back around, and the hellfire is still raging around them.

"He's gone," Sehun says. "He's not even-- I barely recognize him."

Baekhyun twists their fingers together. "We can do this," he says. King Lu Han's scream cuts out, and the dam breaks.

Chaos spreads her fingers and laughs as demons surge from King Lu Han's side, racing out to attack the Tamers stationed all around. Sehun's voice cuts through the uproar.

"My court!" he calls, and that's all he needs to say. More demons throw themselves into the fray, attacking those who called themselves loyal to Queen Krystal. King Lu Han snarls, and Sehun snaps around to grab Baekhyun.

"Call Prince Jongdae!" Joonmyun orders. "Now!" The Demon King dives forward, racing towards them, and Baekhyun digs his hand into his pocket grabbing the vial. He throws it full-force at the ground, watching it shatter and blood run in rivulets across the pavement.

A gate spins open. " _Come!_ " Baekhyun screams.

" _Minseok!_ " King Lu Han screeches as he barrels forward, eyes set on the Lord Tamer himself. Kai and Chanyeol step in, but Lu Han screams, and hellfire blasts into the two princes, knocking them back. They snarl in tandem at the Demon King, but they're nothing against him. Sehun pulls Baekhyun out of the way.

King Lu Han yells as he leaps, the Lord Tamer standing with naught but his knife for protection against the Demon King's long, curved claws. King Lu Han leaps, arm raised and eyes and mouth wide. He laughs, mad and loud.

Prince Jongdae bursts from the gate just as the Demon King lands, grabbing him and twisting him in tight against him. He snatches his wrist and twists it back as the king snarls, fangs glistening in the hellfire light. Jongdae wrenches King Lu Han's wrist backwards towards his neck, shoving upwards, and with a sickening crack, the king's shoulder pops clear of its socket.

King Lu Han screams, his body already working to pull the dislocated limb back into socket, but it's enough time for Jongdae to press his lips against King Lu Han's ear.

"Let him live, hm?" he hisses. "We'll go back to the Hell plane, and his body will tear itself apart. He can suffer then."

The Demon King shrieks and dances out of Jongdae's hold, darting back and shoving his shoulder back into place.

"Joonmyun," Prince Jongdae says. His voice rings clear and strong; his eyes never leave the Demon King. "Go fight with your Tamers. Minseok, if you want to live, I suggest you go do the same."

"The Demon King is mine," the Lord Tamer snarls.

"Go, now!" Jongdae orders, and his voice rings, echoing. King Lu Han shakes his head, claws scraping the ground as he leans down, preparing to attack.

"Minseok," Joonmyun urges, and rushes forwards with Kai and Chanyeol to pull the First Tamer away. His shock is evident, Baekhyun thinks; he didn't expect to see the Demon King he once knew suddenly so deranged.

"Kyungsoo and Taehyung," Jongdae continues. "Queen Krystal brought her creatures and her dukes with her. Can you take care of that?" The two Tamers run off immediately, Jimin hard on their heels. Baekhyun hears Kyungsoo calling for Irene and Seulgi. They'll be fine.

"Baekhyun," Jongdae says. He turns just a bit to face Baekhyun and Sehun, and King Lu Han leaps.

"Look out!" Baekhyun shouts. Jongdae twists back just in time. He dives under the Demon King's attack, flipping himself back. With the Demon King's full attention on Prince Jongdae, he won't be making any cheap shots like earlier. Baekhyun bites his lip.

His father is a powerful demon, but King Lu Han is the _most_ powerful demon.

"There's a battle going on, didn't you know?" interrupts Baekhyun from watching the fight between Jongdae and the Demon King. He spins on his heel, Sehun in sync beside him. Sauntering towards them is Yixing, the creature's teeth already unnaturally long and sharp. Sehun snarls as two more creatures walk up behind Yixing. Both of them spark incessantly, their skin blackened from the lightning racing along their bodies.

"So this is the human world," Yixing says, swaying a bit. He sweeps into a bow, turning his face up towards Sehun. "Ah, Prince Sehun, it's been awhile. And I have been _so_ missing you."

Sehun says nothing.

"I'll kill him," Baekhyun seethes, remembering the attack on him outside Jongdae's court and Wendy's death.

Yixing bursts out laughing. "You?" he questions. "Kill me?" He howls, bending over and wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. "Boy, you'll need a lot more than will to-- _gah!_ " Baekhyun doesn't wait for him to finish, throwing himself forward and driving his knee into the creature's stomach. 

Yixing gags, and Sehun comes up right behind Baekhyun claws snagging into Yixing's throat. The creature doesn't even get to let out a strangled cry before Sehun is ripping his throat out and sinking his hand down through the creature's ribcage to sink his claws into Yixing's heart. Baekhyun can feel the hot blood on Sehun's hands as if it were on his own, and he grins with triumph at that creature falls to the ground, bleeding in a dozen colors.

"Chameleon," Baekhyun mutters, kicking at the body. 

Angry zapping fills the air, and a long scream from Jongdae and a cry of pain from Lu Han crowd Baekhyun's ears. 

"Lightning," Baekhyun whispers to Sehun. "How do we--" He makes a few gestures as the two other creatures move to stand like they're about to attack. A bolt flies through the air, and Baekhyun and Sehun jump apart. A deep, black groove stains the ground where they were just standing.

"Shit," Baekhyun breathes.

 _Lure them into the hellfire,_ Sehun's voice rings in Baekhyun's head. He blinks. Their Eternity sings loudly, picking the tempo for their fight, and Baekhyun dives forward. He leaps clear over the creature. It tips back, trying to aim its bolts at him, but it only manages to catch a corner of Baekhyun's jacket. He shrugs off the material and throws it at the creature. He barrels forward and drives the sole of his boot into about where he assumes the creature's face to be, and the creature soars back, crashing into its partner, throwing them both away from Sehun.

"Baekhyun!" Sehun shouts. The two creatures stagger to their feet and light up bright yellow, energy expanding in a growing radius around them. Sehun's arm wraps around Baekhyun's waist, and he jumps just as the creatures release their attack.

The impact knocks into them, and they crash hard on the ground, rolling to a stop between Prince Jongdae and King Lu Han.

"Are we switching then?" Jongdae asks. He crouches down, eyes serious as he looks at Sehun. "Protect my son," he orders, and then he turns and sprints off to the lightning creatures, diving into the hellfire and forcing them to chase him.

King Lu Han shouts, and Sehun and Baekhyun scramble to their feet. The Demon King's power crashes over Baekhyun, and his hands and knees shake with the effort to stay standing. He breathes hard, chest heaving.

"My brother," Sehun tries. The Demon King surges forward, sweeping his foot out and knocking Sehun off balance. He slams the heel of his hand into Sehun's collarbone, and the crack of bone is almost as loud as Sehun's head cracking off the ground as he hits.

"Sehun!" Baekhyun yells, and the Demon King turns on him with wide kick, throwing Baekhyun down across the ground. The grass and then asphalt burn, tearing through his shirt and his skin.

King Lu Han laughs. "The other was more fun!"

"King Lu Han," Sehun murmurs. "My brother, please." The Demon King just cackles again, and turns to walk after Baekhyun. Baekhyun scrambles to get back, but the king is too fast, leaning down to fit his hand around Baekhyun's neck. His grip tightens as he lifts him easily. Baekhyun chokes, gasping for air, scrabbling at King Lu Han's hand with his own claws, his toes just barely dangling above the ground.

The Demon King seems not to notice when Baekhyun tears a chunk out of his hand. "Such an odd Tamer," he muses. "Demon claws?" He hums. "Oh, I see. You're that halfling."

"Lu Han, let him go!" screams from just behind King Lu Han, and the king drops Baekhyun. He falls to the ground, kneeling, trying to breathe properly as he watches Sehun crash into his brother, slicing through his clothing and skin easily with his claws.

King Lu Han hits the ground with Sehun over him, and he twists, rolling them over until he's got the upper hand, pressing Sehun down as he digs a thumb nail into the fleshy part of Sehun's cheek and tearing. Through the side of his face, Baekhyun can see his demon’s teeth where the skin gapes open. Sehun swings his leg in and kicks out _hard_ , throwing his brother back just enough to get him time enough to get to his feet and pull Baekhyun up beside him.

"Please," he asks, face stitching itself back together. "Stand by me."

"I'm here," Baekhyun says. Their bond roars to life between them, giving them a boost of strength. King Lu Han screams and rushes at them both. With a matching cry, they press forward at the same time, catching the Demon King's wrists and shoving clawed hands into his shoulders. Blood drips down the king’s chest and runs over their fingers and down their arms. If they pull hard enough, King Lu Han will be torn into pieces. 

Everything seems to calm for a moment. The hellfire still rages high and strong, but the roar of battle is focused into dull nothing with the Demon King held captured and at their mercy.

"Kill me," King Lu Han asks, gasping against the pain of the ten claws buried in his chest, and for a moment, he seems completely sane. Sehun shakes his head even with his claws hooked in the Demon King's shoulder. Baekhyun hesitates behind him, watching his demon for a sign.

"No," he says. "No, I can't kill you. You're my brother."

"You must," King Lu Han insists. "I want you to. I've had enough, and Hell, our home, needs a king. That king cannot be me." Sehun lets out something like a broken sob, and King Lu Han dips his head, resting his forehead against Sehun's for a moment.

"Please," he murmurs. “I am nothing but madness and grief. I can’t go back, and I can’t stay here.” Sehun glances over at Baekhyun, and Baekhyun nods.

"I'm sorry, brother," Sehun whispers.

 _"Let me go, my king."_ Sehun screams, and Baekhyun screams right alongside him as they pull, tearing the former Demon King apart. 

Stillness settles over them. The hellfire stops, the gates stop, the whole world seems to stop as Baekhyun simply lies on the ground next to Sehun, pulling his demon in close to him as they breathe. Tears slip silently down Sehun's cheeks, and Baekhyun presses his face against the back of Sehun's neck.

"It's over," Sehun murmurs, and with his words, there's a shift, a transference. Lu Han's body disintegrates before them, miasma spinning dark around it until the only thing left is power, raw, radiant ability and strength twisting into one tight coil. The power of a demon king surges up, illuminating the night sky and floating around in the miasma. Sehun breathes in, and the power shoots down, slamming into Sehun's chest.

Baekhyun grabs tight onto Sehun, holding him as his ears ring with Sehun's screams as the power wracks through him. Baekhyun presses his hands flat against Sehun's skin, hoping to absorb some, to lessen the pain of it if he can. The power curls throughout his body, and the shadow of Sehun's pain digs into Baekhyun's muscles,

"It's almost over," Baekhyun whispers. "And then it will be over. We're free."

 _Free._ He keeps holding onto Sehun as his whimpering quiets, running his fingers through his hair and cradling him close to him until Sehun's breathing is even again.

"Are you okay?" he asks, lips against the shell of Sehun's ear. "Sehun?"

A breathe. "I'm okay," Sehun says. "I'm really okay." He twists in Baekhyun's hold to place a hand against Baekhyun's jaw. Baekhyun leans into it without hesitation. He belongs to Sehun now, and Sehun belongs to him. They made it out alive, and they're sitting now in what is only the beginning of their Eternity. Baekhyun can't look away from his demon; he looks just as beautiful as he always has. Baekhyun breaks into a relieved smile, fangs and all.

"King Sehun," he says. "We've won." Sehun smiles back at him and stands, pulling Baekhyun up into his arms.

"Yeah," he breathes against Baekhyun's jaw. "We did." Beyond them, however, the din of demons fighting still continues, and Baekhyun pulls away. He swipes his hand through the air and watches the miasma dance around his fingertips.

"Night Hunt isn't over," he realizes. He looks up at Sehun. "It's still going on." Sehun stares down at his hands, curling them into fists and then relaxing them.

"The Demon King must return to his home," he says. "Fix the imbalance in power." Sehun takes Baekhyun's hand and leads him up to the gate Baekhyun had opened to call Sehun to this plane just before midnight struck. He steps away from Baekhyun when they reach the edge, walking almost to the center of the gate. "It will end when I leave this plane," he says. "Everything will stop, and you--?" He turns and looks at Baekhyun. Baekhyun offers him the most sincere gaze and grasps his wrist.

"I'll be right behind you," he whispers. "I promise."

Sehun leans forward and presses his lips to Baekhyun's forehead. "I'll wait for you." His murmur ghosts over Baekhyun's skin, keeping him warm as his demon turns and descends into the gate. It swallows him quickly, greedily, as if recognizing the power that Sehun now holds, the power that Hell has been missing for far too long.

The world jolts, and Baekhyun is knocked to the ground. With a screech and a groan like an old clock turning backwards, the chime of rusted bells, the miasma spins in the air and dives towards the gates. Baekhyun fights to breathe as his whole body feels pulled towards the gate, the power he siphoned from Sehun still racing through his blood. The part of him that used to be able to identify as human doesn’t feel present anymore, it feels lost under the need to join the Hell plane.

"Baekhyun!" Taehyung calls, racing back towards him. He stumbles as the world tips again. Screams of demons rise up around him as gates close, taking the inhabitants of the Hell plane with them. Baekhyun opens his arms, and Taehyung throws them both to the ground, tackling Baekhyun in a hug.

"Where's Jimin?" Baekhyun asks, struggling to breathe under Taehyung's weight and the urge to crawl into the gate.

"The Hell plane," Taehyung answers. "Where you should be going." Baekhyun tightens his hold on Taehyung, trying to convey his jumbled thoughts to his friend through the strength of his hug. _Thank you. I'll miss you._

"I will miss you," Taehyung tells him for the third time. "I'm so proud of you." Baekhyun reaches up slowly, pauses a second, and then brushes his fingers through Taehyung's sweaty hair.

"It'll be alright," he says. "This world without me? You'll have so much fun."

Taehyung grins. "I plan to." He wiggles his eyebrows. "Time to celebrate, drink champagne, and maybe find a date." Baekhyun doesn't bother to stop himself; he laughs, and Taehyung is right there alongside him.

"Baekhyun," interrupts the moment. Baekhyun jolts up to his feet, standing face to face with his father.

"Prince Jongdae." The prince holds out a piece of folded paper.

"I was asked to give you this. Read it," he encourages. "I'm proud of you too." He grins. "It's over." And then he too, steps into the gate.

"Read it," Taehyung echoes the demon prince. Baekhyun carefully unfolds the letter, and inside only one line is written.

_I hope you choose to come home. -Luna_

Taehyung's face splits into a huge grin that Baekhyun belatedly realizes he's copying.

"Go," Taehyung urges. "Go on. Go meet her. Go be with Prince Sehun. Go home." Baekhyun tugs the note into his pocket.

"Tell Kyungsoo and Joonmyun that I--" Baekhyun coughs. Still the gate tugs on him, and he's ready to step in and catch up with Sehun.

"That you love them too," Taehyung finishes. "I know." He wipes at his face. "Now go before I really start crying, you dumb princeling!" The wind picks up, whipping their clothes around them, and Baekhyun stares up at the silver moon.

"Bye," he breathes, and then he steps backwards into the gate and keeps walking until the silver moon becomes a silver sun. The scream of iron gates echoes behind him, and the gates of hell finally slam shut.

# ...It Ends

The purple sun steaming through the windows wakes Baekhyun gently, warming his skin and not glaring too brightly in his eyes. He squints, shifting to stretch and rolling over to come face to face with his demon prince.

Baekhyun reaches up, running his fingers over Sehun's eyebrows and down his cheeks to trace out his lips. Sehun mumbles, licking his lips in his sleep.

"My prince," Baekhyun murmurs. "My prince, wake up." Sehun sniffs, and Baekhyun runs his hand down Sehun's chest, down his stomach, and back up his back, pressing himself closer to his Eternity. "My prince," he repeats. "Sehun."

Sehun stirs then, squinting against the weak light of the purple sun. "Baekhyun?"

Baekhyun snorts. "Who else would it be?"

"Hmm," Sehun mumbles before flopping down on Baekhyun and nipping at his neck. 

"Sehun," Baekhyun grumbles. "It's today." Sehun pauses in dragging his tongue across Baekhyun's collarbone. Baekhyun sits up, shoving his demon back against the mattress.

"I don't care," Sehun says, reaching out for Baekhyun again. "We can just celebrate here, privately." 

"Cannot," Baekhyun argues, sliding out of bed and grabbing his pants from the floor. "Your court worked how to make this special for you, and all the princes and princesses are here to watch." Sehun rolls over, eyes tracing out Baekhyun's form as he stands in only pants. Baekhyun shows his teeth to add to the affect.

"Baekhyun," Sehun starts. "Come here." Baekhyun goes, sitting back down on the bed. He expects it when Sehun kisses him, but that doesn't mean he doesn't welcome it. It's nice being able to spend the rising of a purple sun caught up in one another. The sheets tangle around them, and they hardly care that they're almost late for Sehun's official coronation as Demon King when they're both so happy to simply exist side-by-side. 

They have an Eternity to spend together that Baekhyun is looking forward to.

***

Baekhyun watches from Sehun's side as each prince or princess walks up to Sehun and swears their loyalty to him one by one, each presenting a small gift as a token of faith. Even with the gates permanently shut and the cycle of souls restored, it's been a rough year of fighting. Sehun's was thrown into court wars with other princes who thought they should be the next Demon King the moment he returned form the human place .

The fighting didn't last long; Sehun overpowered everyone easily with his brother's power and his dukes and ducesses at his side, and the decision for the next King was quick and unanimous. Of course courts will still fight -- demons live for fighting -- but now it will be controlled the way it was back before the late King Lu Han was deceived. Hell is in a state of relative peace, and Sehun sits in a position of power with Baekhyun at his side.

Most importantly, in Baekhyun's opinion, he has a home now. He's welcomed here; he's wanted here. He has something to cling to and someone to support. He belongs to a court who call him Duke, and he is free to visit his parents in Prince Jongdae's court when he wants. (It's too bad Taehyung will never know how much mischief Jimin and Baekhyun get up to together nowadays.)

Baekhyun scans the crowd as the High Hell Queen launches into the final section of the coronation speech. With the Hell queens out of hiding, many new demons have joined their ranks, and Sehun's court is just as full and lively as it was before Queen Jessica attacked. He watches Chanyeol curls his fingers around Jongin's, and he sees his father snoozing in the back. He catches Yoongi fidgeting next to him, and he nudges him with his elbow. Sehun's newest duke shoots him a terribly affronted look. On Sehun's other side, his duchesses stand tall and regal, Irene and Seulgi with their hands linked together. 

Baekhyun tunes in just as the High Hell Queen hands Baekhyun the crown.

"And with this, we celebrate the rise of our next Demon King," she announces. Baekhyun turns carefully just like they had rehearsed and settles the crown on Sehun's head. This will probably be the only time he ever wears it, and Baekhyun can't move his eyes away, too caught up in absorbing every detail.

"I present your newly risen king, King Sehun!" Applause and cheering break out, and Baekhyun is proud to call Sehun his. As Sehun takes Baekhyun's hand to lead him out to greet the princes and thank them for their support, he pauses to lean down and remind Baekhyun that he loves him. 

Baekhyun grins, and his fangs glint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who made it this far! This fic has been...well. A long adventure, and I'm not even going to lie, I'm really excited to be done! I will miss this verse a lot. It was really a lot of time and effort, and I hope y'all could enjoy it at least a 3% as much as I did. I'm sure I'll come back to this fic later to fix some things, but the story is as the story is.
> 
> To those of you who read this when it first came out and waited until now to read the rest, thank you!  
> To those of you who just now found it and read the whole thing, thank you!
> 
> Come talk to me about EXO and BTS on [twitter](https://twitter.com/daestruct)!


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